Baby boomers want to keep working in retirement, but most said their company doesn’t offer the option, according to a poll by research firm Harris Insights & Analytics.
The poll found the majority of working baby boomers are satisfied with their current job and would stay in the workforce if semi-retirement was an option. However, many also said their employer currently doesn’t offer the option to semi-retire and no retirees from the past have been brought back into the workplace.
The survey found half of baby boomers don’t think a proper successor is in place for when they retire. As well, 40 per cent of working baby boomers said they’ll retire later than they initially anticipated because they haven’t saved enough money for retirement or because they want to continue working.
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About three-quarters (76 per cent) of working boomers said they’d like to semi-retire by having a flexible work schedule and 60 per cent said they want reduced working hours with reduced benefits. Only 30 per cent, however, said their employer offers the option of semi-retirement.
Another recent survey on retirement, by CIBC, found 27 per cent of retired Canadians said they regret retiring and 23 percent said they’ve tried re-entering the labour market. More than half (59 per cent) said they chose to return to work for intellectual stimulation and 50 per cent did so for financial considerations.
The survey also found 78 per cent of Canadians said they believe reducing their work hours to semi-retirement would give them the best of both worlds. Only a third (32 per cent) of retirees who tried to re-enter the labour market managed to secure a position at a similar level and pay than the role they had left.
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