Will More of Us Be Working Forever? The 2006 Retirement Confidence Survey

Abstract

This paper reports findings from the 16th annual Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS), which suggest that many American workers are not ready to undertake the task of financial planning for their retirement and face the prospect of having to work far longer than they expect. The RCS finds that Americans have opinions and behaviors that hinder their ability to realistically assess the preparations needed to ensure a financially secure retirement. While a majority of Americans have made some financial preparations, saving is more likely to take place when encouraged by an employer-provided retirement savings plan, such as a 401(k), than when left solely to individual initiative. Moreover, the findings suggest that although education has been moderately successful at boosting retirement preparation, options that default workers into more desirable retirement planning behavior may also have their place.

Keywords: Retirement attitudes and opinions, Retirement planning

JEL Classification: J26