But while very few new retirees who felt in control leading up to their retirement day have second-guessed themselves (98% say they are satisfied with the decision to retire when they did), when asked if they had it to do over again, nearly a third (31%) say they would do so, split nearly equally between those who would do so earlier (14%) and those who would push it back (17%). And just over a quarter (29%) say they would save more money before retiring if they had it to do over.
Despite those relatively positive sentiments, the respondents to Ameriprise’s Retirement Triggers study — 1,000 newly-retired Boomers ages 60-73 with at least $100,000 in investable assets — cited a variety of factors that influenced their decision, including:
- “I decided it was time to enjoy life” or “I no longer wanted to work” (51%);
- “I reached my retirement savings goal” (17%)
- “I was forced to retire by my employer” or “I was offered early retirement incentives or lost my full-time job” (16%)
Doubts Ahead of Retirement
The respondents might be feeling pretty confident in retirement, but they weren’t quite so sure ahead of that decision; nearly half (47%) say they did feel ready, but they had mixed emotions about retiring. Another quarter (25%) say that their mindset one year before retirement was that they “couldn’t wait,” and 21% admit they felt uncertain or not ready. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of newly retired Boomers say they felt stressed about retirement leading up to the decision, but only 25% say they still feel stress now that they’ve been retired for some time.
A large majority (75%) of these relatively well-off retirees (94% of respondents are either very satisfied somewhat satisfied with their financial situation in retirement) say they are “very satisfied” with their lifestyle in retirement and just as many say they are spending their new free time doing what they planned to do in retirement.
However, only about a third (31%) said there was nothing difficult about transitioning into retirement.
Decision Points
Fewer than one-third (29%) of new retirees say that eligibility for Social Security and Medicare was a driving factor in their decision to retire (70% of respondents say they are drawing a portion of their retirement income from a pension).
Nearly all (94%) say it was extremely or somewhat important that they felt financially confident about retirement before pulling the trigger, though 22% of respondents say they are spending more money than they thought they would in retirement and nearly as many (24%) believe they underestimated their retirement income needs. On the flip side, 28% of new retirees shared that they weren’t spending as much as they had planned (thus far).
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