American pre-retirees today don't expect to leave the workforce when they turn 65, according to Nationwide's newly released Advisor Authority survey.
Sixty-nine percent of respondents 55 to 65 years old agreed that the retire-at-65 norm does not apply to them, and 67% said they anticipate more challenges in retirement than their parents and grandparents faced.
Four in 10 pre-retirees said they would continue working in retirement out of necessity to supplement their income, and 27% plan to live frugally in order to be able to fund their retirement goals.
Survey participants said their retirement plans had changed over the past 12 months, with 22% expecting to stop working later than planned.
"Many of us watched our parents and grandparents enjoy a smooth transition to a secure retirement powered by traditional pension benefits," Eric Henderson, president of Nationwide Annuity, said in a statement. "Today's investors are having a tougher time picturing that for themselves as they grapple with inflation and concerns about running out of money in retirement."
The Harris Poll conducted the survey Jan. 8-23 among 518 advisors and financial professionals and 2,346 adult investors with investable assets of at least $10,000. The investor sample included a subset of 391 "pre-retirees" aged 55 to 65 who are not retired, and subsets of 346 single women and 726 married women.
Battling Higher Costs
The survey found that 42% of participants are finding it harder to manage day-to-day expenses because of the cost of living. Twenty-seven percent said that inflation is forcing them to save less for retirement, and 57% believe that inflation is the most immediate challenge to their retirement portfolio over the next 12 months.
In addition, 4 in 10 pre-retiree investors are avoiding unnecessary expenses — vacations, jewelry, shopping sprees and the like — to save more for retirement, compared with a third of non-retired investors.
