Retirement: what, when, and how the world wants it
A new study released this week by HSBC says that Americans view retirement differently from the rest of the world.
What is retirement?
Well, it's a very happy time—at least according to Americans. Of 20 countries and territories recently surveyed, the United States has the most positive view of retirement. Some 64 percent of Americans see retirement as an opportunity to start a new chapter in life, compared with 32 percent of all the nationalities interviewed. Globally, the survey of 21,329 adults conducted from October to December 2005 found that the most necessary elements for a happy old age are family and friends (67 percent) and keeping fit (61 percent). Americans also cited those factors but did so less frequently than the global community. However, Americans, more than people in other countries, considered keeping your mind sharp (38 percent) and having a strong religious faith (37 percent) important to happiness in old age.
When is retirement?
The world agrees that retirement should be a choice based on desire and the ability to work. But an exact age when it is ideal to retire is much more difficult to nail down. Europeans, Asians, and Latin Americans believe that retirement should begin at about age 60 for men and 56 for women, but Americans believe that retirement should begin later, at around age 64. Working longer is not just an American phenomenon. One in 4 people (25 percent) worldwide does it for the money. Other reasons for working longer include doing something valuable (22 percent), staying physically active (21 percent), socialization (13 percent), and mental stimulation (13 percent). Americans reported similar reasons, but Americans are slightly more likely to do it for the money (29 percent).
Paying for retirement
One in 3 people worldwide believes that the government should bear the cost of retirement, but only 1 in 5 believes that the government will. Americans are much less likely to believe that the government should or will bear the cost of retirement, with only 16 percent believing the government should finance retirement and 12 percent believing it will. However, people worldwide agree that the preferred way for the government to act is to help people help themselves.
"Governments cannot afford to shy away from the enormous challenges and opportunities presented by the world's aging population," says Stephen Green, CEO of HSBC. "HSBC's 'Future of Retirement: what the world wants' research shows that individuals increasingly expect to bear their own costs in later life, but governments must understand their role in continuing to support individuals." Some 36 percent of people worldwide think that the government should make additional private savings compulsory, as do 34 percent of Americans.
Americans are also much less likely to rely on their children in old age. Only 6 percent of Americans think the burden of paying for retirement should fall on the shoulders of their offspring, compared with 20 percent of people worldwide. The majority of Americans believe in a self-sufficient retirement (66 percent), compared with 43 percent of people worldwide.