Catherwood LibraryILR School

Up to 80 percent of employees believe that they will continue to work during retirement, but only 19 percent actually do, according to the AARP. One major reason for wanting to work is because many employees have not saved enough for retirement, with 57% of retirees having less than $25,000 in savings, not including pensions or home equity. Another 28% has saved less than $1,000. Forced into taking Social Security early results in up to 25% less benefits. Yet employees who have to leave work temporarily (due to elder care, illness, and layoffs) find that seeking a job after the age of 50 brings observable fear, as according to a 2012 GAO report, unemployed workers over the age of 55 are least likely to find another job. It can take up to over 40 weeks for this population subset to find another job.