RISMEDIA, Jan. 25, 2008-Additional results from a new retirement study conducted by Gray Hair Management, one of leading career coaching, networking and job search resources for professionals with base salaries of $75,000 to $300,000+, reveal that 70% of America’s corporate executives plan to pursue hobbies, travel or golf during their retirement years, and half are planning a post-retirement relocation.
Gray Hair Management’s 2007 Executive Retirement Survey was conducted in December 2007 and included almost 1000 senior level executives age 40 or older. Results related to retirement age, financial readiness and top retirement concerns were reported earlier this month, revealing that 75.2% of America’s corporate executives plan to retire after age 60 and only half believe they are on course, financially, to retire at their planned retirement age. Additionally, health care and finances top their list of retirement concerns.
Leisure Pursuits
Contrary to reports that most baby boomers plan to work or start businesses during retirement, Gray Hair Management found that the majority of corporate executives (70.4%) plan to pursue hobbies, travel or play golf in their retirement days. Specifically, 30.9% said they plan to pursue hobbies, 25.9% plan to travel and 13.6% plan to play golf. However, 9.1% plan to start a business, 5.7% plan to go back to school, 5.4% plan to do volunteer work and 3.8% plan to work part-time (primarily as teachers or consultants).
“As baby boomer executives postpone retirement until their late sixties, seventies and beyond, it appears that most plan to enjoy leisure pursuits, rather than work, in their post-retirement days,” said Scott Kane founder and managing director of Gray Hair Management. “For those who plan to work after retirement, they will pursue volunteer opportunities, entrepreneurial ventures or part-time work as teachers or consultants.”
Retirement Relocation
The Gray Hair Management retirement survey also found that 50.7% of corporate executives plan to relocate when they retire. Almost 40% (38.5%) cited climate is the biggest reason for their planned post-retirement move, while 23.5%% want a smaller home, 17.5% said they need to downsize financially and 13% want to move closer to family.
Of those who plan to relocate after retirement, 74.4% plan to move out of state, with 8.5% planning to move to Florida, 7.6% to Arizona, 2.7% to Texas and 54.1% to other states. Additionally, 12.4% plan to move within their existing city/area, while 5.6% plan to move out of the country.
For more information, visit www.grayhairmanagement.com.
