Since 2011, financial services organization Aegon has carried out the annual Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey, the largest global retirement survey of its kind. The survey, conducted in cooperation with the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and Instituto de Longevidade Mongeral Aegon, covers over 15 countries and 16,000 employed and retired respondents. The 2017 edition is entitled Successful Retirement – Healthy Aging and Financial Security and investigates the two elements necessary to prepare for an enjoyable retirement: wealth and health.
Promoting healthy ageing and financial security
The survey, released in June 2017, confirms that the gap between people’s expectations for retirement and the reality remains stark. It also shows that health and wealth in retirement are closely linked. Respondents view retirement as an active stage of life in which they wish to stay socially connected, involved in their communities, and continue to work in some capacity. This requires both careful financial planning and the maintenance of good health, the report concludes. In a world in which one in five people can expect to live beyond their 90th birthday, individuals, employers, the retirement industry, and governments, all have a role to play in promoting healthy ageing and long-term financial security.
Best practice with Leyden Academy
The 2017 Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey contains a case study in cooperation with Leyden Academy, highlighting the book A Guide to Growing Older – Let Your Environment Do the Work by Dr. David van Bodegom and Professor Rudi Westendorp. It provides a recipe on how to grow old and remain healthy, not from sheer discipline alone but through smart adaptations to one’s daily surroundings; at home, at school, at the office and on the road. The best practice can be viewed here.
To download the 2017 Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey, please visit the Aegon website.