New research reveals that more Americans plan on delaying retirement, which suggests that the nation’s jobless rate might undergo a gradual drop instead of a rapid decline.
According to the "2010 Retirement Confidence Survey," 24% of U.S. workers indicate they have postponed their planned retirement age in the past year because of the slow economy (29%), a change in their employment status (22%), inadequate finances (16%), and the need to make up for losses in the stock market (12%).
The Employee Benefit Research Institute and Mathew Greenwald and Associates conducted the survey, which interviewed 902 workers and 251 retirees. Their research also shows that the percentage of workers who expect to retire after age 65 has increased, from 11% in 1991 to 14% in 1995, 19% in 2000, 24% in 2005, and 33% in 2010. If older employees continue to extend their careers, then fewer existing jobs are likely to open up, note analysts at the EBRI and the market research firm.
Overall, U.S. workers’ confidence of their ability to retire holds steady, but their ability to adequately prepare for retirement is faltering. "Americans’ attitudes toward retirement have clearly tracked the economy the last couple of years, and that seems to be the case in 2010," says Jack VanDerhei, EBRI research director and co-author of the survey. "Unfortunately, while their attitudes are stabilizing, their preparation for retirement is not. A distressing number of people have no savings at all," he adds.
Other key findings from the survey include:
- The percentage of workers very confident about having enough money for a comfortable retirement remains steady at 16%, which is statistically equivalent to the 20-year low of 13% measured in 2009. Retiree confidence about having a financially secure retirement has also stabilized, with 19% saying now they are very confident.
- Worker confidence about paying for basic expenses in retirement has rebounded slightly, with 29% now saying they are very confident about having enough money to pay for basic expenses during retirement (up from 25% in 2009, but still down from 34% in 2008).
- The percentages of workers very confident about other financial aspects of retirement have held steady at 12% for medical expenses, 10% for long-term care expenses, and 21% for doing a good job of preparing for retirement. However, the percentages not confident continue to creep upward, from 44% in 2009 to 51% in 2010 for medical expenses, from 56% to 61% for long-term care expenses, and from 30% to 35% for doing a good job of preparing for retirement.
