« The New Retirement Survey »

Merrill Lynch announced the findings of a new study that reveals how baby boomers envision their retirement and the coming decades of their lives. « The New Retirement Survey, » conducted for Merrill Lynch by Harris Interactive® in collaboration with Age Wave, builds upon conventional wisdom that boomers are not interested in pursuing a traditional retirement of leisure. The majority of boomers relate they plan to keep working and earning in retirement, but will do so by cycling between periods of work and leisure, thus creating a new model of retirement. « Baby boomers fundamentally will reinvent retirement, and this has profound implications for how we at Merrill Lynch need to advise this generation of clients – individuals as well as retirement plan sponsors, » said James P. Gorman, President of the Global Private Client Group. « With boomers living longer and remaining engaged and employed beyond age 65, many of the traditional financial assumptions regarding retirement need to be reexamined. This survey provides a useful starting point. » The New Retirement Survey offers a complex and illuminating preview of the kind of lifestyles, workstyles and recreation activities that boomers envision for their future. With guidance from noted gerontologist and author Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D., it offers