Even the Wealthy May Push Off Retirement

A Barclays Wealth study says many of the world's affluent are planning to be 'nevertirees.'

Author:
Joe Mont
Publish date:
Sep 27, 2010 12:38 PM EDT

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- The growing ranks of "nevertirees" isn't limited to those who plan never to stop working because of financial constraints. A growing number of the world's wealthy say they plan to forgo the proverbial gold watch, according to research by Barclays Wealth.

In a study released today,

The Age Illusion: How the Wealthy are Redefining Their Retirement

, Barclays says that 60% of global high net worth individuals and 54% of affluent Americans say they have no plans to ever retire and will instead continue working full-time at their current job or start a business of their own.

The report, part of the Barclays Wealth Insights series, was based on a survey of more than 2,000 people with $1.5 million or more in investible assets. Barclays Wealth is the wealth management division of

Barclays Bank PLC

(BCS) - Get Barclays Plc Report

, operating through

Barclays Capital

in the United States

Emerging markets, such as Saudi Arabia (92%), United Arab Emirates (91%) and South Africa (89%) indicated the greatest desire to keep on working. Sixty percent of respondents in the U.K. said they plan to continue working late in life. Switzerland (34%), Spain (44%) and Japan (46%) were among the countries most likely to still want a conventional retirement.

In the U.S., 75% of respondents said they would, at the very least, continue to work part time after they have stopped working permanently, 7% more than the global average.

"This represents a step change for wealthy people," Matt Brady, head of the wealth advisory unit for the Americas at Barclays Wealth, in a statement. "While previous generations looked to create their wealth early on in life with a view to enjoying it when they retired, this report reflects a different attitude, with people wanting to continue to challenge themselves well beyond the traditional retirement age."

-- Written by Joe Mont in Boston.