Two out of three workers do not see themselves quitting working entirely when they reach retirement, a US survey by Robert Half Management Resources has found. That makes 60 per cent of workers who plan to work in some capacity past their retirement, which could ease the problem of many baby boomers ready to retire on mass in the near future.

"Longer life spans, increased financial responsibilities, and a desire to remain mentally and physically active are prompting today's workers to view retirement differently than their predecessors,” said Paul McDonald, executive director of Robert Half Management Resources.

More and more workers who are nearing the retirement age want to keep physically and mentally active, and continuing to work is one way that they can achieve this.

Many older workers continue to work today, they simply wish to remain involved in the community and want to stay mentally and physically active,” said David King, Executive Vice-President with Robert Half Management Resources.

The most popular alternatives to a full retirement include working at something new (24%), working as a consultant (14%) or working for the same company with fewer hours (14%).

“Employers in both the United States and Canada are concerned about the projected talent shortages that are expected in the years to come. The trend of professionals working after retirement in Canada is on the rise,” said King. “Many companies today are offering older workers the option of remaining with their organization on a part-time or consulting basis after retirement.”

Less popular options were to take a part time job (2%), continue to work (2%) or volunteer (1%). Nine per cent of respondents either did not know what they would do or planned to do something not listed in the survey options.

"The desire by many professionals to remain in the workforce past the traditional retirement age could be a boom to employers concerned about talent shortages, which are predicted to intensify,” said McDonald.

New employees are not seen as being at a disadvantage as a result of these later retirements, as most retirement age workers do not plan to work fulltime.

“As retirees and graduates focus on different activities, this trend will have little impact on new entrants. Most career experts agree that there will be shortages of candidates in many fields, including finance and accounting in the years to come,” said King. “Today, there exists a strong demand for new finance and accounting graduates, and as the projected candidate shortage intensifies, so to will the demand for these professionals.”

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