Few people approaching retirement are in the career they aimed for when leaving school or university.
The days of jobs for life and picking up a gold watch for 50 years of service are long gone for most.
Vocational and professional workers may find they have followed the same career path for many years, but the real reason why over 55s are in their jobs are revealed in a retirement saving study by pension giant Aviva.
The research shows a marked difference between the way men and women look at where to work.
Men are twice as likely to have where they work dictated by the amount of salary paid, while women prefer to work somewhere conveniently located.
Switching jobs
More than 50% of over 55s switch jobs during their working life.
Around 20% do so because they are not happy with their role or workplace. The research shows workers approaching retirement have changed jobs more than those already retired.
Aviva suggests this indicates increased mobility and more job opportunities now, compared to two or more decades ago.
The elusive universal key to a happy retirement is good health, the report also reveals.
Having enough cash to maintain a reasonable standard of living comes a close second.
The survey also smashes a myth that retirement allows pensioners to spend more time on their hobbies, which is way down the list from the top priority, which is sharing time with a partner for 16%.
Back in time
Financially, the over 55s are not happy with their savings or incomes. Many bemoan the low interest rates paid by banks and building societies and how the rising cost of living has affected their spending power.
Aviva says the over 65s report their income as dropped by at least 10% over the past 12 months.
Many over 55s feel disenchanted about their medium to long term finances as they foresee little change in inflation or interest rates.
Around 50% regret not saving more for their retirement while working, said the study.
In fact, most recent retirees wished they could turn back the clock and go back to give a sever talking to their younger selves about not putting enough cash into a pension, says the report.
Many see not starting company pension as mistake (40%) – which Aviva retirement business director Clive Bolton sees as a problem rectified by auto-enrolment in the UK.
This may be a little late for those who are 55+ but you can always learn something new. The problem is education. Retirement planning education should be mandatory starting in elementary school and right through college and beyond. Many people just don’t plan for retirement. You have to plan for your financial needs as well as your lifestyle requirements. There is a great deal of information about retirement available on the web. I recently found the site Retirement And Good Living that provides information on finances, health, retirement locations, part time work and also has a great blog of guest posts about a variety of retirement topics. I never understand why more people don’t at least try to educate themselves on these sites. Most are free.