Home Instead Senior Care commissioned Atomik Research to run two separate PR research online surveys, each consisting of 502 people in the United States and Canada to determine attitudes surrounding a return to work after retirement.
One survey was comprised of 502 people in the United States (451) and Canada (51) who have unretired. Unretired here refers to those have retired and subsequently returned to work. The other survey was comprised of 502 people in the United States (451) and Canada (51) who said they have plans to retire within the next 5 years.
Key findings of the PR research included:
- 71% of people who have returned to work said that they had looked forward to retirement, whereas a whopping 93% of people awaiting retirement said they were excited
- The groups share similar fears regarding retiring, mostly related to money. Each group was most concerned about not having the money to cover their expenses, or no longer earning money
- 53% of the sample that has yet to retire said they were either very or somewhat likely to return to work, while only 41% of the unretired sample had believed they may return to work.
- The number one aspect of the retirement experience that has changed the most notably in the past 10 years is the number of people who eventually return to work after retiring
- Money was ranked as the most important motivator for each group in returning to work – other factors included looking for a new challenge and fear of mental decline
- Volunteering was the career each sample was most interested in as a second career, followed by retail work and health sector
- Both groups would look for a change in industry if they were to return to work – 65% of the Unretired and 68% of those pending retirement
