Golden Gateway Financial released some sobering news last month: the number of older Americans who will delay retirement past age 70 has doubled, thanks to today’s economic challenges. The report also states that half of all seniors’ net worth has decreased by 10 to 30 percent.
The problem is that time is not on the side of older workers who are trying to recover from housing or financial market losses. Per Golden Gateway Financial:
- Before the economic crisis, 67 percent of respondents planned to retire before age 70
- Now, the number of seniors planning to retire by age 70 dropped to 40 percent
- Before the economic crisis, 30 percent of those surveyed planned to retire after age 70
- Now, almost 50 percent of seniors plan to retire after age 70
(Golden Gateway defines “senior” as 62 years or better, so this is relevant to targers from the Silent Generation or older.)
At Creating Results, we’ve studied and written about mature consumers who choose to delay retirement. We started doing so long before the financial crisis, and we would have expected to see an increase in delayed retirements even if the economy continued to soar. (Check out the profiles in this recent MSNBC story on those opting to work.)
However, with challenges brought on by the Great Recession, these self selected ”un-retirees” will be joined by an increasing number of folks who have little choice but to keep working and by those who could retire, but are now too scared to do so.
For marketers, this will have major implications for the messages and mediums they use to connect with seniors. Its means you’ll have to fight harder and smarter for a share of spending. Not only for their share of their hard-earned money, but also for a share of how they spend their reduced leisure time. These savvy and experienced consumers will be re-defining “discretionary.” Companies and marketers need to become adept at segmenting their products/messaging based on employment status and the new anxieties this study observed.
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