a new report uncovers interesting attitudes among high net worth South Africans.
The latest Wealth Insights report says high net worth South Africans have a very positive outlook on retirement, considering it to be the best years of their lives. The report looks at the perceptions and attitudes of 2 000 high net worth individuals in 20 different countries, and finds wealthy South Africans were the world’s most confident about their financial security, with 65% of respondents certain that they are financially secure. This was ahead of other confidently wealthy in Spain (63%) and India (55%). The survey showed that half of wealthy South Africans expect retirement to be the “best years of their lives.”
The report also highlighted a very interesting shift in attitudes towards retirement. Instead of being a time in your life when you kick back and forget about work, the report finds that traditional retirement is being rejected by a new breed of wealthy worker, who want to carry on working for as long as they are able. 60% of wealthy individuals polled say that they plan to become a ‘Nevertiree,’ shunning traditional retirement. Instead they expect to continue working, start businesses and take on new projects in their later years.
South Africans topped the list, with 89% saying they wanted to keep working beyond retirement, higher than the 60% of English and 54% of Americans. Conventional retirement appeals the most to high net worth people living in Switzerland, Spain and Japan.
The idea of “Nevertirement” has been gaining popularity over the past few years, and definitely seems set to continue. 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. Many Nevertirees prefer to be actively engaged and challenged and are not bound by their age with regards to continuing their working life.
The report also demonstrated that as well as wanting to keep on working, the wealthy are using the later years to re-examine their options with regards to work, looking for different careers and positions, often moving from the role of execution and control to that of influence.
Sarah Harper, Professor of Gerontology and Director of the Oxford Institute of Ageing at the University of Oxford said, “People want to contribute, they want to be doing something. Work gives people status, and at an age when you’re incredibly experienced you may want to start a second career or even do something completely different from your previous professional life.”
(Extracted courtesy of “SA’s wealthy get more optimistic” by Evan Pickworth)
