Most Americans plan to retire, and those who do plan to do so expect to leave full-time work a decade earlier on average than full retirement age, according to a new survey from NerdWallet, a personal finance company.
Others say they will never retire because they want to keep working or they do not feel they will financially be able to quit.
The Harris Poll conducted the survey in early January among 2,079 U.S. adults.
Changing Retirement Plans
Fraught economic conditions over the past 12 months have affected how some Americans save for retirement, the survey found. Twenty-seven percent of respondents reported that they have saved less because of high inflation, and 18% have saved less than they normally would have because they are worried about a potential recession.
Thirteen percent said they have contributed less to retirement investments over the past 12 months because those investments are not performing well.
Economic uncertainty also may have led investors to base retirement savings decisions on emotion. The survey found that 15% of participants have changed the types of retirement investments they hold over the past 12 months, while 7% sold retirement investments during this period and now regret their decision.
Thirty percent of those surveyed said their intended retirement age has changed during the past year, with 16% planning to retire later and 11% planning to do so sooner. Two percent said they have abandoned their plans to retire.
Among those who plan to retire later, 47% said they are unable to contribute as much as they previously did to retirement accounts. The same proportion said they think they will need more saved for retirement than they had previously thought.
Twenty percent plan to delay retirement because they had to withdraw funds from their retirement savings to cover another expense.
