A recent study bolsters the findings and arguments of those who suggest that retirement doesn’t necessarily mean not working any more.
The LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute reports that approximately of 20% of retirees actually continue to work in some capacity. “Today retirement is better defined as a transitional period rather than a singular point in time,” says LIMRA, continuing, “Many workers slowly adjust to retired life by scaling down the number of hours they work, shifting responsibilities or changing what they do entirely.”
Among retirees LIMRA studied, almost two-thirds stopped working altogether; 17% gradually stopped working; and 19% work part time. And the plans of workers closest to joining them indicate that such behavior is likely to become more widespread. Among pre-retirees, 56% said that they plan to stop working; 17% plan to stop working gradually; and 27% — 8 percentage points more than current retirees — expect to work part time after they retire.
Why do retirees continue to work and pre-retirees expect to? LIMRA says that they report that they want to remain socially and intellectually engaged and physically active, as well as earn money for discretionary spending. And some simply enjoy their work.
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