EBRI Reports 37% of Workers Forced Into Unplanned, Early Retirement

The latest retirement survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) reported that over half of workers plan to retire at age 65 or later. This is not because they love their jobs so much, but instead really don’t see that they have a choice. According to EBRI, these workers are not confident about their financial security, are less likely to have pensions, and are women.

Unfortunately, many of them will be forced into unplanned, early retirement due to health problems or other issues over which they have no control. EBRI’s survey of current retirees found that only 28% of them were able to work until age 65. In fact, 37% of workers are forced into retirement. Of these, 28% couldn’t work because of health problems, downsizing (28%), caring for family member (25%) or were told they had obsolete skills .

Source: EBRI 2007 Retirement Confidence Survey.

What It Means to You

Safeguard yourself against the four main reasons that people retire early:

1. Health - Safeguard your health. (See Top Ten Things to Do for a Healthy Life)
2. Caring for others - Look into long-term care insurance for them. (See LongTerm Care Insurance)
3. Downsizing - Look into your own career planning. (See How to Survive a Layoff)
4. Obsolete skills - Make sure your skills are up-to-date. (See How to Acquire New Skills)

Related Reading

• The Looming Medicare Crisis
• The U.S. Budget and Spending Primer
• What Is the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation?