AUSTRALIA: More Workers Postpone Retirement

MELBOURNE (Herald Sun), November 2, 2007: The notion of chucking in your job to enjoy early retirement is a thing of the past. Fewer Australians are planning early retirement than just 12 months ago. The need to pay for more expensive lifestyles or the desire to bolster retirement nest eggs is keeping more people at work beyond 55. Generous superannuation packages or children late to leave home could be why many choose to continue to work instead of smelling the roses. A new survey reveals that 64 per cent of people aged 55-plus had no plans to retire or no intention of doing so in the next five years. This is up from 52 per cent in the same group a year ago. The Nielsen 2007 Retirement Intentions Report shows that 980,000 Australians aged over 55 have no plans to retire or don't plan to within five years. That figure was 780,000 in 2006. Nielsen Media marketing and communications manager Warren Gillmer said many Australians chose or were forced into early retirement as companies cut staff in the early 1990s. This was in contrast to today with Australians being encouraged to continue to work, he said. By Kelly Ryan © Herald and Weekly Times