Although such an ambition to work on into very old age may be strongly held at the time, changing circumstances and attitudes often lead to a change of plans.

A new ABS report, Retirement and Retirement Intentions, Australia, July 2012 to June 2013 , shows that of the 4.7 million people in the labour force aged over 45:

• 79 per cent intend to retire sometime in the future.
• 8 per cent have not yet made up their mind whether they will ever retire.
• 13 per cent never intend to ever retire.

And of those who intend to eventually retire, 17 per cent aim to retire at 70 years or older, almost half intend to retire between 65 and 69 with a quarter thinking about retiring at 60-64. Interestingly, really early retirement doesn’t seem that attractive with just 9 per cent intending to retire between 45 and 59.
With waves of baby-boomers now reaching what have been the most popular retirement ages, the topic of retirement intentions is grabbing much more attention. It has even become a talking point at some dinner parties.

Smart Investing last discussed retirement ages in Setting your retirement age , published on December 11. As that commentary emphasised, the age that you retire can have a significant influence on your retirement savings, and, in turn, your standard of living in retirement.

Those who choose to stay in the workforce past traditional retirement ages have the opportunity to save longer for what will be a shorter and, therefore, a more affordable retirement.

For most of us, retirement has been a somewhat remote event that will happen sometime in the distant future. However, retirement is fast becoming a reality for many more Australians.

By Robin Bowerman
Smart Investing
Principal & Head of Retail, Vanguard Investments Australia
15th January 2014