American workers over the age of 50 without healthcare insurance options are more likely to put off retiring in order to stay covered under their employer’s plan, according to an analysis by Watson Wyatt.
Workers who depend upon their company for healthcare coverage and don’t expect to receive post-retirement employee benefits are 16.5 percentage points less likely to retire in any given year than workers with access to coverage through another source, such as their spouse’s insurance plan or public health insurance.
Other factors, such as whether employees have a pension, also contribute to the decision on when they plan on retiring. By having a defined benefit plan, it increases the workers’ likelihood of retirement by 4.1 percentage points.
“To effectively predict and manage workers’ exit from the workforce,” explains Kevin Wagner, senior retirement consultant at Watson Wyatt, “employers need to take a comprehensive view of their benefit programs and tailor their retirement programs to meet both employee and employer needs.”
The firm analyzed data collected from 1992 to 2004 as part of the University of Michigan’s Health and Retirement Study, a biannual survey of 22,000 older U.S. workers.
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