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Could 2015 Be the Year of the Retirement Party?

Fifty-three percent of workers over the age of 60 say they’re putting retirement on hold, down from 66 percent in 2010, new survey says.

With the Great Recession still affecting Americans’ golden years, 53 percent of workers over the age of 60 say they’re putting retirement on hold. While that might sound like a lot, it’s actually a post-recession low, down from 66 percent who were putting off retirement in 2010.

According to CareerBuilder’s annual retirement survey, three-quarters of respondents delaying retirement blame the recession, and 12 percent have given up on the idea of retirement entirely, a slight increase over last year. And “retirement” is a relative term. This year, 54 percent of older workers plan to work in retirement, a jump of nine percentage points since last year. Almost 20 percent of these will work full-time.

Older workers who need as job should be able to find it, with 57 percent of employers surveyed saying they’ll hire workers over the age of 50 this year, up from 48 percent in 2013.

Nearly 80 percent of older workers say their financial circumstances are a factor driving their continued participation in the labor market, while 60 percent need their employer’s health insurance to tide them over until they become eligible for Medicare. By comparison, about a third say they’re still punching the clock because they like their job.

IN-DEPTH

-- Martha C. White