Sun Life’s New Index Tracks Longer Work Lives
October 5, 2008
Almost half of the American workforce will work past age of 67, but not for financial reasons, according to a new benchmark created by the U.S. division of Sun Life Financial. The Sun Life “Unretirement Index” is intended to measure the phenomenon of delayed retirement.
Instead, 83% of those polled say they will work longer “to stay mentally engaged.” About 48% of the workforce is expected to work past age 67, a finding that persists across all income, gender and age demographics.
Sun Life defines “Unretirement” as working at least 20 hours per week after the age when one can collect full Social Security benefits. Sun Life’s index will be released multiple times each year and will gauge how economic, financial and societal forces are affecting Americans, as well as forecasting the future retirement decisions that will impact individuals, the government, employers and the broader economy.
“The Boomer generation is approaching the traditional age of retirement with their lifelong habit of challenging societal norms intact,” said Carol Orsborn, co-author with Mary Brown of Boom: Marketing to the Ultimate Power Consumer—The Baby-Boomer Woman (AMACOM, 2006). “They stand at the portal of advancing age more driven by their desire to stay engaged with achievements and family relationships than by the value of their portfolio.” Orsborn’s comments appeared in the Sun Life Financial press release on the Unretirement Index.
While most people cite non-financial reasons for working past their expected retirement age, only 46% of those surveyed said they were “very confident” that they would have enough money to cover basic living expenses at the traditional retirement age.
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