Roughly a third (34 per cent) of global employees say they expect to work at least part time after retiring, a percentage that increases to 37 per cent among U.S. employees, according to a new survey by T. Rowe Price.
The survey — which polled more than 7,000 employees in Australia, Canada, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. — found nearly a fifth (17 per cent) believe they’ll run out of money in retirement and only 27 per cent said they’re confident they could withstand a major financial shock while retired.
Only 31 per cent of respondents said they expect to live as well or better in retirement. This pessimism was most pronounced in Japan and Australia, while optimism was highest among U.K. employees. Retirement confidence also differs by gender, as women — especially single women — reported significantly lower retirement confidence compared to men. Notably, in Australia, 31 per cent of men reported high confidence versus only 15 per cent of women.
Read: Survey finds confidence key to higher retirement savings
Excitement for retirement is linked to financial confidence and progress. About a third of employees said they’re excited for retirement and these respondents are more likely to be higher earners and married. They’re also twice as likely to report progress toward their financial goals.
More than two‑thirds (68 per cent) of plan members said they prefer to choose how their retirement savings are invested, though this group was roughly split between those wanting choice with educational support (35 per cent) and those confident in their investment decisions (33 per cent).
About one in five (22 per cent) indicated they prefer their retirement savings be automatically invested for them. Canadian employees were the most likely to favour defaults (27 per cent), while Japanese employees expressed the least comfort with a default investment (16 per cent).
Read: How does CPP fit into retirement income picture for younger Canadians?