The Meaning Of “Retirement” 

May 22, 2019

The Meaning Of “Retirement” 

Americans across different age groups seem to share a common vision of what their retirements will be like, a new whitepaper from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies suggests.

The Center surveyed baby boomers, Gen Xers, and millennial's to assess their feelings and perceptions about their futures. All three generations saw retirement as a period of increased free time, yet 55% of all respondents felt their retirements would include some work. The top nouns and adjectives associated with retirement were “freedom,” “stress-free,” and “enjoyment.” Some of the findings are definitely intriguing. Just 39% of millennial's indicated they were worried about the future of Social Security, compared to 49% of boomers and 48% of Gen Xers. Only 40% of all respondents indicated that they were prioritizing keeping their job skills up to date, a factor which could help them continue their careers longer. While 74% were concerned about maintaining their health in retirement, just 22% said that they took their long-range health into account when making lifestyle decisions.²