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Thursday, May 18, 2006

Retirement Study: Americans and Their Employers Don’t See Eye to Eye

In releasing the 2006 Merrill Lynch New Retirement Study, Merrill Lynch reports a "startling disconnect" between how Americans and their employers view retirement: While many people are actually working in retirement or have taken steps for a new retirement career, most employers are not on track to prepare for this phenomenon.
“Not only is the new model of retirement here, but it transcends many different age groups,” said Michael Falcon, head of the Retirement Group at Merrill Lynch. “Multiple generations report cycling in and out of work and pursuing a new career in later life as the retirement ideal. This important study shows us that companies need to be aware of this new concept of retirement in order to prepare for the new work force realities.”
According to the survey--conducted for Merrill Lynch by Harris Interactive, 71% of those surveyed want to work in some capacity in retirement. The most cited reason for working during retirement was to stay mentally and physically active, and most would like to change their line of work and cycle between periods of work and leisure. On the other hand, while companies are not completely in the dark and recognize the shift toward the desire to work in retirement, they are more likely to assume that employees want to work a regular part-time schedule than to cycle between periods of work and leisure and have not responded to individuals’ overwhelming desire to pursue a completely new line of work in their “new retirement.”

Source: Merrll Lynch News Release (May 18, 2006)

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