A recent study from America has found that just under three-quarters (72%) of pre-retirees over the age of 50 say their ideal retirement will include working – often in new, more flexible and fulfilling ways.
In addition, the study from Merrill Lynch and Age Wave found that 47% of current retirees have already worked or are planning to work during their retirement years, and predicts that it will become increasingly common for people to seek work during this stage of their lives.
Earlier studies had suggested that previous generations viewed retirement as a permanent end of work followed by continuous leisure. However, modern-day reality for many pre-retirees and retirees is a dynamic future that the study defines as “The New Retirement Workscape,” represented by four different phases:
- Pre-retirement – Five years before retiring, 37% of pre-retirees who want to work in retirement will have already taken some meaningful steps to prepare for their post-retirement career; this rises to 54% among those within two years of retirement.
- Career intermission – Most pre-retirees do not seek to go directly from pre-retirement work to retirement work. They want a break to allow them to relax and recharge. More than half (52%) of working retirees say they took a break when they first retired. These career intermissions average 2.5 years.
- Reengagement –The study found that, on average, this phase lasts nine years and includes a new balance of work and leisure. Compared to those in their pre-retirement careers, people working in these “FlexCareers” are nearly five times more likely to work part-time (83% vs. 17%) and three times more likely to be self-employed (32% vs. 11%).
- Leisure – In the fourth phase of retirement, people welcome the opportunity to rest, relax, socialise, travel and focus on other priorities. Working retirees expect health challenges (77%) or simply not enjoying work as much (61%) to be the most likely causes of their stopping work permanently.
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