--- description: Only 21% of Americans say they plan to stop working in retirement, according to a new survey that finds the vast majority of Americans expect to continue working past the age of 65. title: Retirement 'More Myth Than Reality,' Survey Finds image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05215cc4d86c8725/6987ee61a988cac8476b0849/454966934.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Retirement](/tag/retirement/) ## Retirement Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Retirement 'More Myth Than Reality,' Survey Finds  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 5, 2015 12:47 PM CUT  A pensioner holds his walking stick on September 8, 2014 in Walsall, England. A pensioner holds his walking stick on September 8, 2014 in Walsall, England.Christopher Furlong—Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 5, 2015 12:47 PM CUT Only 21% of Americans say they plan to stop working at the age of retirement, [according to a new survey](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/tcrs2015%5Fpr%5Fretirement%5Fthroughout%5Fthe%5Fages.pdf "undefined"). The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS) surveyed 4,550 full-time and part-time workers about their retirement and savings plans. One in five said they would continue working as long as possible and 41% planned to reduce their hours. The study also found that 61% of Americans expect to continue working past the age of 65 or do not plan to retire at all. “Today’s workers recognize they need to save and self-fund a greater portion of their retirement income,” said Catherine Collinson, president of TCRS. “The long-held view that retirement is a moment in time when people reach a certain age, immediately stop working, fully retire, and begin pursuing their dreams is more myth than reality.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3846787/retirement-america-work-savings/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3846787/retirement-america-work-savings/"},"headline":"Retirement 'More Myth Than Reality,' Survey Finds","datePublished":"2015-05-05T12:47:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:55:48.356Z","description":"61% of Americans expect to continue working past the age of 65","url":"https://time.com/3846787/retirement-america-work-savings/","keywords":["Retirement","Careers"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05215cc4d86c8725/6987ee61a988cac8476b0849/454966934.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05215cc4d86c8725/6987ee61a988cac8476b0849/454966934.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pensioners in Retirement","caption":"Pensioners in Retirement","creditText":"Christopher Furlong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/retirement/","name":"Retirement"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3846787/retirement-america-work-savings/","name":"Retirement 'More Myth Than Reality,' Survey Finds"}}]}] ```