Many individuals who thought they would be able to retire when they reached age 65 are reconsidering because of the economic downturn and a sudden realization that they haven't saved enough to live comfortably in retirement.

Retirement used to be an age-driven event, but now people are thinking about it from the perspective of, "Can I afford to retire," said Joe Ready, director of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. In a recent survey of middle class people, those who make less than $100,000 a year, 25 percent of respondents said they would have to work until age 80 to be able to afford retirement.

"We always knew that three out of four people would work in retirement, but working until age 80 is very much a sea change," Ready said.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.

  • Critical BenefitsPRO information including cutting edge post-reform success strategies, access to educational webcasts and videos, resources from industry leaders, and informative Newsletters.
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM, BenefitsPRO magazine and BenefitsPRO.com events
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.