US retirement still elusive goal for many

A majority of older, U.S. workers indicate they are putting off retirement with a substantial number indicating they will never retire, a new survey found. The survey conducted Nov. 6 to Dec. 2, 2013 by the Harris Poll for CareerBuilder found 58 percent of respondents over 60 indicated they had put off their retirement. That's down from 66 percent in 2010 and 61 percent in last year's poll, CareerBuilder said. The survey, which included 433 full-time workers age 60 or older, also found 10 percent of respondents indicated that retirement was out of the picture. A year ago, 11 percent indicated they would never retire. Fifty percent indicated they would retire within four years, a modest improvement over last year's poll, when 47 percent indicated they would need four more years of work to be able to retire. "While achieving a secure retirement is still a challenge for many in the workforce, the survey points to some positive trends," said Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America in a statement. Fewer workers indicate they will put off retirement compared to the recession years and more workers indicate they will retire without having to keep a part time job to supplement their income, Rasmussen said. The survey results were gleaned from 433 interviews with full-time workers 60 years of age or older who were not self-employed or government workers. The results of the survey carry a margin of error of plus and minus 4.71 percentage points, CareerBuilder said.