The new retirement: No retirement?

ANN ARBOR-For growing numbers of Americans, the new retirement may really mean no retirement. That's the conclusion of an article in the current issue of the ISR Sampler, the annual magazine of the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research. "For most of the 20th century we saw retirement ages fall while life expectancy rose," said David Weir, an ISR research professor and director of the ISR Health and Retirement Study. "About 20 years ago, the trend in retirement age reversed and it has been inching up slowly ever since." People are retiring later for a lot of reasons, but a key one is economic. Employer health insurance benefits for retirees are eroding, spurring many employees to hold out until they qualify for Medicare at age 65. Changes to Social Security, such as the increase in the age at which people can receive full benefits from 65 to 67, also may be playing a role. And people are living longer, requiring additional savings to support those extra years.