Retirement – ha!
Or to be somewhat more data-centric about it, 74 percent of those surveyed in metro Atlanta said they believe they will keep working past the traditional age of retirement.
Maybe they think they will need the money, maybe they want to keep busy or maybe they have a passion they want to pursue, but the upshot is they'll keep working, according to a report to be released at 9 a.m., eastern time, today.
It is a big change, according to the numbers collected by Merrill Edge, a spin-off of Merrill Lynch that is part of Bank of America: 90 percent of the current pool of metro Atlanta retirees are not currently working or never did after hitting retirement age.
Finances are a big part of it, since a lot of people don’t think they have the money to retire. And a lot of it is about a tide of uncertainty and insecurity that people have around savings.
The people questioned in the survey were “affluent,” so in theory, they should be a lot more prepared than average.
But of the people surveyed in metro Atlanta this fall, 27 percent said they need additional income, the survey found.
“We are seeing a shift in how Atlanta residents are thinking about retirement and planning for their later years,” said Aron Levine, head of Merrill Edge.
Of course, the company urges that people do more planning.
The survey found that 59 percent think they won't need more than $1 million to retire they way they want to. But clearly a lot fewer people think they are going to have that much socked away: 25 percent they need "to win the lottery" in reach their financial goals for retirement.
That image of globe-trotting senior citizens cruising off to the South Pacific on their 60-foot yachts?
Um, no: More than half of those surveyed said they are saving now for retirement just so they’ll be able “to afford daily life” or take care of their families.
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