Lowering the retirement age from 65? More (young) people are in favor of it than you might think, according to the first Longevity Project-Morning Consult Poll released this week.
And don’t get them started on the idea of raising the retirement age. Many people polled reacted unfavorably to the idea of raising the retirement age to accommodate the over-55 segment of the American labor force, which happens to be the fastest-growing one and will eventually be the largest.
The Longevity Project, a new initiative that partners with the Stanford Center on Longevity, the Urban Institute, and other think tanks to research the effects of increased longevity, polled a representative national sample of 2,197 adults in early November and found that younger workers in particular see value in lowering the retirement age.
The poll found 35% of people age 18-29 believe that the retirement age of 65 should be lowered to “make room for younger people to advance professionally,” a view that is likely inconsistent with the reshaping of the labor pool to accommodate so many older workers.
The overall poll results found 23% think the retirement age should be lowered while 50% think age 65 is “about right” and only 16% thought the retirement age should be raised, “as people are living longer and need to continue working as they age.”
The poll revealed a strong concern and pessimism about financial security among younger adults, perhaps not surprising given the fact that most of this group came of age during and around the Great Recession.
Sixty-five percent of respondents age 18-29 (the largest percentage among any of the age cohorts) identified financial security as being “very important” to a successful, long life, but only 19% of those age 18-29 believe that they will have the resources to be able to retire at or before age 65. The intersecting lines of greater longevity and greater uncertainty about retirement and pension plans no doubt weighs heavily on many younger Americans, The Longevity Project concluded.
Ken Stern, chair of the Longevity Project, told Yahoo Finance that while people are going to live and work longer, there is another trend that stands to complicate things. As companies shift the retirement funding burden onto workers—away from offering defined benefit plans toward defined contribution plans like 401ks—retirement has gotten more complex.
“The future of work will look very different,” Stern said in the Yahoo Finance piece, adding that the future of retirement will have to change as well to accommodate. “The people who are responsible for retirement in this country, the policy makers, companies, people in policy and finance, need to come together and create new mechanisms.”
The Longevity Project poll is part of a larger series of polls scheduled for 2019 and 2020 that will gauge public sentiment towards a graying society and evaluate major opportunities to advance the cause of effective longevity in education, work, finances and health.
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
