A new survey of recent retirees conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute reveals that, if employers ask employees to work longer within two years of their planned retirement date and offer them incentives to do so, many may be willing to work longer

According to the study, respondents typically retired for one of four reasons: retirement becomes affordable, lack of job satisfaction, a desire for more personal or family time, and/or medical problems.

However, 61% of retirees report they would have been open to an approach from their employer asking them to stay longer with the company. Just 10% indicate they would have reacted negatively to an approach asking them to delay their retirement.

The survey tested a total of 19 possible incentives that might encourage retiring workers to postpone retirement. Four of these appear especially likely to be successful:

Half of retirees (48%) indicate that feeling truly needed for an assignment would have been extremely or very effective in encouraging them to delay their retirement.

Moreover, of those ranking this as one of the top two most effective incentives, 72% say it might have prompted them to stay at least two more years with the company.

Half of retirees with a defined benefit pension state receiving a full pension while working part time would have been effective in delaying their retirement (50%), and almost as many feel this way about receiving a partial pension while working part time (44%).

Seven in 10 of those rating each among the top two most effective incentives report they would likely have stayed at least two more years if it had been offered to them (72% for full pension; 71% for partial pension).

Thirty-eight percent report that being able to work seasonally or on a contract basis would have been effective in encouraging them to delay retirement. Among those rating this as one of the top two incentives, more than three-quarters (77%) say it might have prompted them to stay two years or more with the company.

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