A growing number of Americans never plan to retire, believing they’ll work until they drop, but is it realistic, or even their decision?
A new poll finds just such a disconnection between individuals’ retirement plans and the realities of an aging workforce.
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research notes that illness, injury, or some other form of incapacitation or unexpected event often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they’d like.
“Yet 23% of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don’t expect to stop working at all,” according to the research. “Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.”
The Center cites government data that shows one in five workers age 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June.
“When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14% of Americans under the age of 50 and 29% over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared,” the poll states. “About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared. By comparison, 56% of younger adults say they don’t feel prepared for retirement.”
Among those who are fully retired, 38% said they felt very or extremely prepared when they retired, while 25% said they felt not very or not at all prepared.
Career effect
“Meanwhile, Americans have mixed assessments of how the aging workforce affects workers: 39% think people staying in the workforce longer is mostly a good thing for American workers, while 29% think it’s more a bad thing and 30% say it makes no difference.”
“A somewhat higher share, 45%, thinks it has a positive effect on the U.S. economy,” the AP concludes.