Sun Life’s ongoing research also shows that since the onset of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008, there remains a lack of confidence in the country about what retirement holds for Americans. Less than half of respondents (42%) are very confident that they will now be able to take care of basic living expenses in retirement and only one in four have strong confidence that they will be able to take care of medical expenses. Just under 20% believe they will never fully rebuild from their financial losses.
“Our latest Unretirement Index shows that American workers have surveyed the damage of the economic crisis and are coming to grips with how long it will take them to rebuild their savings and how long they will need to remain in the workforce in order to do so,” said Wes Thompson, President of Sun Life Financial U.S. “The Unretirement Index demonstrates how low confidence levels are impacting the American psyche and details the changes Americans are making in their saving and spending habits as a result.”
"The trend toward working longer into so-called 'retirement years' has been increasing, but as the Sun Life index shows, it is accelerating because of tough economic times. And with the under- and unemployment rates high, there is intense competition for jobs among all age groups," said Bill Novelli, professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and former CEO of AARP.
The Index also found that 70 is the “new 65” in terms of the expected retirement age in America, with just as many Americans expecting to retire at age 70 as those at age 65. The Index also found that fewer Americans are continuing to work because they “love their career.” In addition, the Index identified a shift in the primary reasons that Americans plan to work past traditional retirement age. In the fall of 2008, before the extent of the crisis was felt across the country, the most popular reason for working past traditional retirement age was “to stay mentally engaged.” Now “to earn enough money to live well” is just as popular a reason.
Unretirement is defined as working at least 20 hours per week after the age when one is eligible to receive Social Security benefits. Sun Life created this Index to learn more about the reasons why Americans are choosing to “unretire,” or continue to work full- or part-time after the age of traditional retirement.
ADDITIONAL FINDINGS
Growing concern, lower confidence about the future of government benefits
Over its two-year history, the Unretirement Index has charted increasing pessimism by American workers, since the onset of the economic crisis, that they will receive benefits upon retirement. The number of those polled who are confident that they will receive retirement benefits at a level comparable with today’s retirees reached a new low for programs including Social Security, Medicare, medical benefits from an employer, and government prescription drug benefits with only:
- 14% very confident in Social Security – down from 22%*
- 16% very confident in Medicare – down from 20%*
- 11% very confident in government prescription drug plans – down from 14%
- 22% very confident in receiving medical benefits from an employer – down from 25%
How are Americans responding to the state of the economy?
Seventy-one percent of Americans who responded are now reducing their spending and 66% are reducing their debt. Of those trying to reduce spending:
- 88% are spending less on entertainment
- 84% are eating out less
- 77% are cutting back on holiday shopping
- 72% are putting off a large purchase like a car or home improvement
- 57% are cancelling travel or vacation plans
- 29% delayed a routine or elective medical procedure
However, despite efforts to reduce spending, almost a quarter of those polled (23%) are not currently saving for retirement at all.
Thirty-something Americans are deeply concerned by economy’s impact on retirement and how long they will need to work
The Index also reports that the economic crisis and pace of recovery has deeply affected the retirement mindset of Americans in their thirties. Of those polled, thirty-somethings are the largest group (16%) who thinks they’ll have to work more than 10 years longer than planned as a result of the economic crisis and also the largest group (87%) who will do so “to earn enough money to live well.” In addition, thirty-somethings are the age group most pessimistic about the future of Social Security with 60% of respondents “not at all confident” that they will receive it in retirement at a level comparable to today’s retirees.
UNRETIREMENT INDEX NUMBER
On a scale of 0-100, the overall Index score remained at 44 (down from its first reading of 46 in August 2008), showing that Americans continue to be pessimistic about their retirement prospects. It also shows that the concept of Unretirement is now a realistic concept across age cohorts and that Americans will continue to work past the traditional retirement age of 67 or re-enter the workforce after retiring. The Index is made up of several subindices that address different areas that impact retirement decisions including the economy, personal finance, health, government benefits and employee benefits.
The overall Index is a composite score based on the performance of five issue-specific indices, including: the “economic index” (score = 32), the “personal finance index” (score = 43), the “health index” (score = 68), the “government benefits index” (score = 37), and the “employee benefits index” (score = 41). While the overall Index number remained at 44 from last year’s installment, the Index recorded movement in the issue-specific indices. Americans this past year grew less optimistic about the macro economy and their personal finances, while the “health index” and “employee benefits index” showed improvements in optimism.
