Retirement: Third of Gen Xers plan to retire at 65, survey finds

By RNZ

In what could be symptomatic of changing attitudes around work, only a third of Gen Xers - people roughly between the ages of 43 and 58 - say they plan to stop working when they turn 65.

A Horizon Research survey of 1632 ANZ customers in the Gen X age group showed 35 per cent of respondents planned to stop working when they turned 65 a quarter weren’t sure and the remainder expected to continue working.

ANZ managing director for funds management Fiona Mackenzie said the way people have traditionally thought about retirement, and how to spend their so-called golden years, was changing.

“I think this data is fascinating, because it continues the trend of people thinking about life after 65 quite differently and for the Gen Xers, I think there’s definitely a cohort who want to stay in the workforce because they need that purpose or that structure in their life,” she said.

“We are living a lot longer, and more people are working beyond the official retirement age of 65.

Some people plan to work past the age of 65. Photo / 123RF

“For some this is out of necessity, but for many working into their late sixties and even seventies, this is a lifestyle choice.”

Of the respondents, 16 per cent said they planned to give up full time work in their 70s, 2 per cent expect to work into their 80s and 3 per cent said they would never retire

However 9 per cent expect to retire before the age of 60 and 10 per cent said they expect to retire between the age of 60 and 64.

The bank also surveyed people who had already retired, asking whether they retired earlier or later than planned, and why.

“The number one reason for retiring earlier than planned was for health reasons,” Mackenzie said.

“Unfortunately, 25 per cent of people who had retired later than planned said it was because they didn’t have enough money to retire comfortably.”

Housing security could be a factor in people continuing, or planning to continue, working past the age of 65, she said.

“For some of these people that financially will need to have cash flow still coming in and haven’t got enough savings for retirement, it may be that they don’t own their home.

“I think this is something that New Zealand is going to increasingly have to grapple with, with homeownership rates coming down.

“Superannuation was designed pretty much on the assumption that everybody owns their own home and that’s increasingly not the case, particularly in the millennial generation.”

For Gen Xers worried they did not have enough money to retire, Mackenzie said there was still time to build up savings.

“These tend to be very financially productive years, and even if you are planning to keep working beyond 65, it is a good reminder to stay focussed,” she said.

She advised people to increase their KiwiSaver employee contributions or make voluntary contributions if they could afford to and to ensure they were in the right KiwiSaver fund for their life stage.