For many baby boomers, retirement planning has long been about saving enough so that you can reach the age of 65 and comfortably leave your working life. Yet for many wealthy baby boomers, this view of retirement and old age is not something they share. According to a new survey from the Spectrum Group, a wealth research firm, a large number of wealthy Americans say they not only plan on working longer, but many don’t plan on retiring at all.
Retirement Figures by Income
The new survey shows that Americans who earn $750,000 or more per year are much more likely to say that the age of 65 is not their ideal retirement age. About a third of these Americans say that they plan on retiring once they reach the age of 70. Another 15% of them say that retirement isn’t something they’ve considered at all.
These figures stand in sharp contrast when compared to the answers given by people who earn under $100,000. Only 6% of these people say that they plan on working until the age of 70, while another 6% say that they don’t ever want to retire at all. The majority of people earning $100,000 a year or less say that they plan on retiring once they reach the age of 65.
These numbers are not necessarily surprising given that previous studies have discovered similar results. According to one survey from 2010, for example, about half of all the millionaires in the world said that they plan to keep working even if they choose to retire. Another study showed that about 60% of people worth $15 million or more said that they’re going to continue working regardless of how old they are.
Working and Living as a Retired Person
A large number of Americans who earn $750,000 a year or more are entrepreneurs or those who own their own companies. For these people, working life is closely enmeshed with their daily lives. Working seven days a week is very common, and the idea of retirement is often very difficult to contemplate simply because of the fact that they have spent their entire lives so closely identified with their employment. The idea of reaching a certain age and then stopping what they’ve been doing for their entire adult lives is not something they like to think about.
Working Benefits
But even if you don’t earn $750,000 a year or more, there are some significant benefits to staying employed after 65. Even if you don’t need the income, working in a social environment and facing the day-to-day challenges of employment can help keep your brain young, your body active, and your sense of independence and self worth high.
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