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Retirement research
The concept of retirement is changing quickly. Sun Life created the Global Unretirement Index to gauge attitudes and perceptions about retirement across Canada, Hong Kong, the U.S. and the U.K.
Are today’s workers confident that they are headed for a smooth retirement, or do they expect to keep working past traditional retirement age?
Global Unretirement Index
Key facts:
About 4 in 10 workers surveyed express dissatisfaction or lack of confidence in the amount of money they have saved for retirement.
The majority among the working population expect they’ll be working in retirement.
Canadian non-retirees are resigned to working years past what was traditionally viewed as retirement age (68 instead of 65), even longer than expected in the U.S. (65) and 7 years longer than workers in Hong Kong (61).
When asked their most important reason for working past retirement, earning enough money to live well or meet basic needs was cited most often among the working population in all countries.
Workers across the globe don't feel confident they can meet even the "basics" in post-working life. Few feel prepared or confident they can live the life of their dreams. This is especially true for U.S. workers.
The burden of medical expenses with increasing old age is a concern for working populations in all markets surveyed.
*Sun Life Financial created the Unretirement™ Index in Canada and the U.S. (2008), Hong Kong (2010) and the U.K. (2010) to monitor worker sentiment over time regarding retirement. The study tracks a number of elements, including whether today’s workers feel they are headed for a smooth retirement or if they will be “Unretired”-- still working, by choice or out of need.
About 4 in 10 workers surveyed express dissatisfaction or lack of confidence in the amount of money they have saved for retirement.
The majority among the working population expect they’ll be working in retirement.
Canadian non-retirees are resigned to working years past what was traditionally viewed as retirement age (68 instead of 65), even longer than expected in the U.S. (65) and 7 years longer than workers in Hong Kong (61).
When asked their most important reason for working past retirement, earning enough money to live well or meet basic needs was cited most often among the working population in all countries.
Workers across the globe don't feel confident they can meet even the "basics" in post-working life. Few feel prepared or confident they can live the life of their dreams. This is especially true for U.S. workers.
The burden of medical expenses with increasing old age is a concern for working populations in all markets surveyed.
*Sun Life Financial created the Unretirement™ Index in Canada and the U.S. (2008), Hong Kong (2010) and the U.K. (2010) to monitor worker sentiment over time regarding retirement. The study tracks a number of elements, including whether today’s workers feel they are headed for a smooth retirement or if they will be “Unretired”-- still working, by choice or out of need.
