Not the Retiring Type

Throughout the years, the first wave of baby boomers have crashed the shorelines of an age group with the subtlety of a tsunami, reshaping the landscape of expectations and leaving the norm in their wake. They didn't settle down in their 20s like previous generations, instead they protested against a war, against authority, against the status quo. The mantra of the day, "Don't trust anyone over 30."

Now as they march into their 60s, they are, once again rewriting the norm for the retirement years. But there's one big difference. They have no choice. Thanks to an economic crisis that has rocked their savings (and not in a good way), retiring at 65 is a luxury many can't afford. According to a University of Michigan study presented on Capitol Hill this week, many more expect to be working past 65 than did just one year ago.

The findings come from 4,412 respondents of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative sample of Americans age 51 and older. One year ago 47 percent of them expected to be working full time after age 65, but this year that number jumped to 57 percent. "That's a very rapid change after a long period of stability," said David Weir, an economist at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR) and the director of the Health and Retirement Study. "This study is the first to show a clear change in work expectations among the same group of older Americans," Weir said. "The findingsprovide compelling evidence that people have changed their retirement plans as a result of the financial crisis."

The survey also found what Weir called an "historically unprecedented" exposure to the stock market, with 62 percent reporting stock holdings in 401(k)s, IRAs, mutual funds, or other vehicles. Reported losses ranged from 20 percent in IRAs and 401(k)s to 25 percent in mutual funds, and 30 percent in stock in single companies.

On a brighter note, those over 50 appear more insulated from the collapse of the housing market, since slightly more than half are mortgage-free. Still, of those who still have mortgages, about 7 percent reported owing more on their home than it's worth and 3 percent have fallen behind on payments, but just three-tenths of one percent reported they had entered foreclosure.

So as they enter their golden years, expect to hear a new mantra from boomers, "Save, baby, save."