Half of older Americans are rethinking their retirement status: survey

Survey data released Wednesday by F&G Annuities & Life Inc. shows that economic realities and other considerations are driving Americans to either delay or come out of retirement.

F&G’s newly released Retirement Reconsidered survey, which was conducted in May across a sample of 2,048 respondents ages 50 and older, found that 51% of this cohort are thinking of reentering the workforce or pushing back their retirement plans.

Despite some recent economic headwinds in the form of stock market growth and ebbing inflation, the majority of pre-retirees surveyed report feelings of anxiety. Sixty-eight percent of the respondents who have yet to retire say they have already pushed back their plans or are considering it, up from 64% last year.

This trend is even more pronounced among Generation X respondents (ages 50-59), with 71% of this group having already delayed or thinking of delaying their retirement date, up from 65% last year. Half of the Gen X cohort said that if they came out of retirement, they would be more likely to work in a different industry.

“As Gen Xers near retirement, our study shows that their worries are heightened,” John Currier, president of F&G, said in a statement. “Having the right advice and financial tools can help alleviate these concerns, including engaging with a financial professional and considering products like fixed indexed annuities (FIAs) and registered index-linked annuities (RILAs) that can provide a mix of upside potential and downside protection.”

Inflation was the most common reason for a potential or actual change of course, cited by 49% of pre-retirees and 44% of retirees.

“This remains a challenging macroeconomic environment to navigate for those close to or in retirement,” said Chris Blunt, CEO of F&G. “As our survey shows, Americans are still reconsidering what retirement means to them, and that may look different from previous generations.

“We believe taking a proactive approach in financial planning can help mitigate some of the economic risks, allowing people to focus on their own personalized roadmap of how and when to retire.”

Notably, however, economic factors are not the only issues at play. One-third of respondents who have delayed or are thinking of delaying retirement said they’re doing so “because they love what they do for work.” Among those who have already retired, 45% said they would consider changing course because “they enjoy the challenge from working.”

Seven in 10 individuals who have changed course or are contemplating it have sought advice. But spouses were the most common source of advice among this group and only 16% discussed their plans with a professional financial adviser.

Reverse mortgage professionals may also need to be part of the conversation. In May, Finance of America executive Steve Resch told HousingWire‘s Reverse Mortgage Daily that financial planners are becoming more receptive to the concept of reverse mortgages. One reason for that is the need to manage long-term care expenses for their clients — costs that can be influenced by inflation.

“The clients are very hesitant to pay for an insurance solution, which can be very expensive — we could be talking $10,000 to $15,000 per year for an insurance solution,” Resch said.