Sun Life: "Unretirement" on the rise

These reasons have been illustrated in some of the most striking findings of the index. In the past, the index found that the most common reason people stayed in the workforce past the age of 67 was “to stay mentally engaged.” As of today, that reasoning appears to have shifted in response to economic trends, as the most popular reason is now is “to earn enough money to live well,” as cited by 84 percent of Americans. The growing concern over future stability is evidenced in a final statistic from the Unretirement Index: “58 percent of American workers are planning to work past age 67 because they don’t believe social security will be available – an 11 percent increase in the last year.”

The Unretirement Index was created by Sun Life to learn more about the motivation behind American retirement planning and why Americans choose to “unretire” or continue working full- or part-time beyond the traditional age of retirement. The company defines “unretirement” as working less than 20 hours per week after the age when one is eligible to receive Social Security benefits. For more on the Unretirement Index, visit www.unretirementindex.com.