A new study shows that a bigger share of consumers, 39%, plan to retire before age 65 than in any other year since 2010.
Eighteen percent say they plan to retire before age 59, according to the study by Hearts & Wallets, an 11-year-old research and benchmarking firm that specializes in how consumers save, invest and seek investment advice.
However, the realities of early retirement mean that advisors will have to work more closely with this age group to increase savings.
The yearly study, Retirement & Funding: Ideas for Enhancing Advice as Income Sources Evolve and Target Dates Move Younger, was released Tuesday.
The online study of almost 6,000 U.S. households also found that:
- 38% of respondents under age 54 aspire to full-time retirement by age 55.
- Only 32% of those age 55 to 64, or pre-retirees, do not anticipate stopping full-time work within five years.
- 44% of "pre-retiree" aged respondents are already retired.
Although the pandemic disrupted many lives, one effect "is a renewed appreciation for building financial security and planning for possible end of work," Laura Varas, CEO and founder of Hearts & Wallets, said in a statement.
The study highlights a dichotomy: While 34% of Americans want a set retirement age, up two percentage points from 2019, there is a larger group — 53%, up three percentage points from 2019 — of Americans who want to "work full time as long as health permits."
The number of people who want to work part time as they age has dropped four percentage points, to 13%, from the previous year.
