Americans age 55 and older have a sense of optimism andresilience when considering their retirement future, according toLarry Roth.

In an interview with AdvisorOne on Tuesday to announcethe results SunAmerica Retirement Re-set Study, Roth,president and CEO of Advisor Group (part of SunAmerica in the wake of AIG’sreorganization), said a combination of guaranteed investmentoptions, help from financial advisors and an expectation of workingpast age 65 have people looking at the “retirement glass as halffull.”

"It isn’t all financial," Roth said. "They want to be goodparents, good spouses and be a part of their communities. Thatspirit, combined with available products and resources, is fuelinga surprisingly positive attitude, despite what they’ve gone throughin 2008 and 2009."

The latest survey is the follow-up to a similar surveyconducted by SunAmerica and Age Wave in 2001, and it identified "asignificant shift in attitudes and actions" in the decade since.Among them:

• A new outlook: Today, 54% view retirement as a new chapter inlife, rather than a winding down—a significant increase over the38% that held a similar view a decade ago.
• Retirement is being postponed: Pre-retirees say they now intendto delay retirement by five years—from 64 to 69—triggered in partby increasing longevity, as well as the recession and financialneed.
• Retirement no longer means the end of work: Almost two-thirdssay they would ideally like to remain productive and include somework in retirement to stay active and involved.
• Financial peace of mind is now six times more important thanaccumulating wealth: 82% name it their key financial goal.
• Unexpected multi-generational family assistance has become thenew retirement wild card: Pre-retirees must balance theirretirement plans with the possibility of having to support agingrelatives, adult children, grandchildren and siblings.

“What we’ve found is that people are more resilient as a resultof what they’ve recently gone through,” Roth added. “They’ve beenknocked down two or three times since our last study. As a result,they’re not frightened about getting knocked down again, and thatfuels this feeling of optimism; they can handle anything that mightbe thrown at them.”

The "core opportunity" for advisors, according to Roth, is insharing the results of the survey with clients, which can serve asan ice breaker to get them talking.

"We can talk all day long with clients about what they’ve saved,and their asset allocation and returns," he said. "But this reallygives advisors an opportunity to get them to open up about whatthey’re feeling, as opposed to what clients are thinking. That canreally help advisors address the issues that matter most and cementthe relationship."