Data and Research May 15, 2017

More Americans Will Work Post-Retirement…Because They Want To

Additionally, 39% believe they will retire after age 65. 
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A recent Gallup survey found that while most employees plan to continue to work past their retirement age—74% to be exact—most have a desire to work, not because of a need to earn money.

The Gallup Economy and Personal Finance survey found nearly two in three employed U.S. adults (63%), reported they plan to work part-time once they hit their retirement age. Eleven percent of respondents said they would work on a full-time status, and one-quarter—an increase from Gallup’s previous surveys—said they would discontinue working at all.

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This year’s survey found that more U.S. employed adults plan to leave working altogether, as two prior versions of Gallup’s poll reported only 18% of adults in 2011 hoped to fully retire, and 22% in 2013.

Of those who plan to work past their retirement age, most reported they will out of preference, rather than out of necessity. In fact, the survey found a decline in employees believing they will need to work past retirement, from 9% in 2013 reporting they “will have to” work full-time, to 5% of respondents today. Similarly, those who said they “will have to” work part-time dropped as well, from 26% to 18%. Instead, employed adults who will work part-time as preference increased, from 34% in 2013 to 44% in 2017.

NEXT: Employed Adults Plan to Retire After 65 

While survey respondents remain unsure about when they will specifically retire, 39% believe it will be after age 65. Additionally, one in four U.S. employed adults plan to retire exactly at 65, and 29% expect to leave the workforce before that age.

While responses remained quite steady in the last decade, Gallup reported a large turnaround since 1995, when 14% of employees said they expected to retire after 65, and 49% believed they would before that age. Gallup states the flip in percentages can be attributed to the later age Americans started to collect Social Security, at 67, and the financial need that more employees face in working.

Furthermore, Gallup believes the shift with non-retirees reporting a “want to” work post-retirement age rather than a “will have to” suggests the decrease in Americans viewing work as a need, either because of the post-Great Recession economy, or because of an excessively positive mindset concerning retirement finances. 

Benefits May 15, 2017

Employers Anticipate More Scheduling Flexibility If ACA is Repealed

Only 4% say they will drop health insurance coverage for some full-time employees if the employer mandate is repealed.
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Respondents to the Littler, Mendelson 2017 Annual Employer Survey identified a range of issues employees believe will represent the Trump administration’s priorities in 2017, with the vast majority anticipating a focus on reforming health care and employee benefits law (89%).

When asked what changes employers anticipate within their organization if the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA)’s employer mandate is repealed, 28% of respondents say it will have no impact because they did not offer coverage to additional employees as a result of the ACA. Twenty percent report they will modify eligibility requirements, and 18% say they will allow more employees to work more than 30 hours per week given that it will no longer trigger a requirement to offer health insurance.

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Seventeen percent indicate they will increase premiums or cost sharing, 27% don’t know what impact the repeal of the employer mandate will have, and 4% say they will drop health insurance coverage for some full-time employees.

Even though responses to the survey were collected before Republicans withdrew the American Health Care Act in late March, employers were already feeling a great deal of uncertainty regarding the impact of repealing the ACA’s employer mandate. More than one-quarter (28%) indicated that they did not anticipate an impact at all, and another 27% said they did not know what the impact would be.

Fewer than half (43%) of respondents said they wanted to see the ACA repealed or revised.

“The responses indicate that employers are committed to providing health insurance for their full-time employees,” says Steven Friedman, co-chair of Littler’s Employee Benefits Practice. “However, they also suggest that a repeal of the mandate would give employers more flexibility to set work schedules based on the needs of their businesses, without fear of triggering a requirement to provide health insurance.”

A report summarizes and analyzes the results of Littler Mendelson’s sixth annual survey of the legal, technological and social issues having the greatest impact on the workplace. It is based on survey responses from 1,229 in-house counsel, human resources professionals and C-suite executives from a range of industries. It is available here.

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