Do Yourself a Favor... Age Well
Executive Recruiter Authors Employment Guide for Boomers

No Surprise: Experts Advise Boomers to Work Longer

MusingsNew year, new goals: If one of yours is retiring from your job, hold on just a minute. Well, make that three to six months.

A recent report entitled "The Power of Working Longer," issued by the National Bureau of Economic Research concludes the following: 

"...delaying retirement by 3-6 months has the same impact on the retirement standard of living as saving an additional one-percentage point of labor earnings for 30 years. The relative power of saving more is even lower if the decision to increase saving is made later in the work life. For instance, increasing retirement saving by one percentage point ten years before retirement has the same impact on the sustainable retirement standard of living as working a single month longer. The calculations of the relative power of working longer and saving more are done for a wide range of realized rates of returns on saving, for households with different income levels, and for singles as well as married couples. The results are quite invariant to these circumstances."

MarketWatch looked at the report and added the following analysis:

"So why does working longer have such an impact on the standard of living in retirement? Because it bolsters two types of retirement income — Social Security benefits and 401(k) withdrawals, the research says. The longer a person works, the longer Social Security is deferred, which means a higher benefit check. The worker’s 401(k) withdrawal will also be higher from more money in the account. Social Security makes up 81% of retirement income in this case, the researchers said, and 401(k) payments make up the rest."

Bottom line: If you've been thinking about retiring this year, maybe you should hold out just a little bit longer. Experts think it will make a significant difference when it comes to financing your retirement years.

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