Retirement? What’s that?

The majority of Americans still in the workplace may not know for a long, long time, since 70 percent say they plan to work as long as they can.

That’s according to a Bankrate Money Pulse survey, which found that not only are people planning to work longer, the number of those who had hoped to retire early has dropped substantially — to only 13 percent of nonretired respondents who said they hoped to retire in their 50s, compared with 27 percent who had that goal in mind when the question was asked back in 2007.

The face of retirement is definitely changing.

Some who plan to keep working don’t intend to spend all day, every day in the office, opting instead for part-time or occasional work that will provide variety as well as income.

Others might be looking for a new and different profession to pursue, perhaps something that they couldn’t devote time to earlier because of family obligations or other obstacles.

But, regardless of plans and intentions, many will still have to leave the workplace earlier than planned because of health or family issues.

In addition lots of others will have to hang on as long as possible because of lack of retirement savings. A quarter of respondents — 25 percent — said they’ll have to keep working because they need the money, while 26 percent said they plan to continue to work as long as they can because they like the work.

Then there are the 19 percent who said they’ll keep working because they like the work — but also because they need the money.

Only 25 percent said they had no plans to work during retirement.

That said, 52 percent of respondents still plan to retire during their 60s, while 12 percent are aiming for their 70s. Seventeen percent plan to work till they die.

Instant Insights /

Most Americans plan to work as long as they can, survey says

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