Half of retired Americans and pre-retirees in a survey released Wednesday by F&G Annuities & Life are thinking about delaying or coming out of retirement. Forty-four percent of retirees or former retirees have returned or are considering returning to work.
A main reason Americans are delaying retirement or rejoining the workforce — "unretiring" — is financial worries. But the F&G survey found that many do so for more personal reasons.
Fifty percent of retirees said they are considering unretiring because they enjoy the intellectual stimulation from working, and 36% said they did not want to feel a lack of purpose.
Among pre-retirees, 64% said they are considering or have delayed their retirement. Fifty-two percent of this group worried that they would not have enough money for retirement, 51% were concerned about inflation and 43% wanted to have more financial options and a bigger safety net.
At the same time, nonfinancial issues are driving some pre-retirees' desire to unretire. Twenty-nine percent said they were considering staying on the job because they love what they do for work, and 27% said they enjoyed the intellectual challenge and stimulation from working.
"Amid inflation, changing workforce dynamics post-COVID and overall generational shifts, Americans are rethinking retirement and extending their time working or, for some retirees, unretiring altogether," F&G's president and chief executive, Chris Blunt, said in a statement.
