Gallup Poll Finds Many Workers Expect To Work after Retirement Age

Gallup Poll has released survey results finding that 80& of American workers think they will continue working full or part time after they reach retirement age, ithe slightly more (44% to 36%) of them saying they will do so because they "want to" rather than because they "will have to." In addition, the poll--conducted April 7-11, 2011, with a random sample of 534 employed adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 states--finds that 63% of workers expect to work part time after retirement age, 18% expect to work full time, and another 18% expect to stop working altogether.

The 80% of current workers expecting to work past retirement age highlights the differences in retirement experience and expectations between current and future retirees. A separate question in the poll found a total of 18% of current retirees saying part-time work is a major (2%) or minor source (16%) of retirement income for them, compared with 74% of nonretirees (including those currently working and those not working) who expect part-time work to be a major (22%) or minor (52%) source of income in retirement.

Source: Gallup Poll News Release (June 1, 2011)