Sun Life Creates Unretirement Index: Measures Attitudes and Expectations towards Iissues Influencing Retirement

Sun Life Financial, Inc., had released its Unretirement Index to track the changing attitudes and expectations American workers have regarding retirement. It plans to release the Index multiple times each year and use it to gauge how economic, financial and societal forces are affecting working Americans, and forecast their future retirement decisions.

According to its initial release, 48% of the U.S. workforce believes it will still be working at the traditional retirement age of 67, and four of the five top reasons given were not financial in nature. Thus, for example, the most cited reason for continuing to work (83%) was "to stay mentally engaged."

"As our workforce evolves and attitudes are impacted by economic conditions and world events, the nature of retirement in America evolves as well," said Bob Salipante, President, Sun Life Financial U.S. "Traditional views on retirement are quickly evolving and more Americans are choosing to be unretired. This Index for the first time shows how changes in the economy, politics, healthcare and lifestyle are all critical factors in more and more Americans choosing to continue working during traditional retirement years."

Source: Sun Life Financial News Release (October 1, 2008)