A new study by the Employee Benefits Research Institute shows that less than half of retirees describe their golden years as very satisfying.
EBRI examined the sentiment of retirees over a 15-year period and found that fewer retirees were satisfied with their quality of life in retirement in 2012 relative to 1998.
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Most studies on retirement well being use single-year data, says EBRI. In analyzing date from the University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study over 15 years, EBRI found the share of highly satisfied retirees is on the decline, while the share of moderately satisfied or those not at all satisfied is on the rise.
Since 1992, researchers at the University of Michigan have retirees a simple question: "All in all, would you say that your retirement has turned out to be very satisfying, moderately satisfying, or not at all satisfying? "
In 1998, more than 60 percent of respondents said they were very satisfied. But by 2004 that share began dropping.
Though both the wealthiest and poorest segments of the surveyed population reported declines in satisfaction, wealthier respondents show much higher levels of satisfaction than those in the lowest quartile of wealth. In 2012, nearly 70 percent of the retirees in the highest income bracket were very satisfied, with very few saying they were not at all satisfied.
For the poorest retirees, less than 30 percent said they were very satisfied, while more than 20 percent were not at all satisfied, twice the level of dissatisfaction reported in 2002.
Self-reported health status had a larger impact on levels of satisfaction than did access to a pension, as 80 percent of retirees that said they were in excellent health were very satisfied, while only a quarter of those in poor health reported being satisfied.
By comparison, about 58 percent of retirees with pension income were very satisfied, while 47 percent of those without a pension were very satisfied.
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Nick Thornton
Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.
