How have workers changed their attitudes about the retirement experience?

Seven in 10 (71%) Americans said the pandemic changed their target retirement age, a recent survey found.

A new poll of 2,002 U.S. adults ages 35–70 discovered the pandemic has had far-reaching effects on how employees are planning both their retirement and “pretirement” – a new life stage serving as a transition period between full-time work and retirement.

The survey split respondents by how they would describe their pandemic experience on a five-point scale, from “very easy” to “very difficult.” It found that 71% of those who had a “very difficult” time (659 respondents) now plan to retire later in life.

People who rated their pandemic experience as “very difficult” were also more likely to aim to volunteer for a group, nonprofit, or other organization leading up to full retirement (49%). Two-thirds of all respondents said they had a somewhat or very difficult time during the pandemic.