BMO Retirement Services Survey: Many U.S. Employers Want Boomers to Continue Working Past Retirement Age

Only 4% of surveyed employers believe extended careers will be negative for companies

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Aug 21, 2012, 07:30 ET

MILWAUKEE, Aug. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In a recent survey of 412 employers offering retirement plans, nearly half expect U.S. companies to benefit from baby boomer employees who prolong their careers past age 65. Only 4% of respondents believe employees who postpone retirement will be a negative for companies, whereas 45% anticipate that protracted careers will yield a positive result for employers.

The survey was conducted by an independent market research firm on behalf of BMO Retirement Services.

"Although some companies will continue to offer buyouts and retirement packages to their older staff, our survey suggests that many businesses will be pleased to retain selected boomer employees," said Todd Perala, Director of Relationship Management at BMO Retirement Services. "There appears to be a growing recognition in corporate America that employees in their sixties possess valuable institutional experience and expertise."

Perala noted that older employees were once widely perceived to create a greater burden on a company's health plan, limit the job opportunities of younger workers and be less proficient using new technologies. "Despite these common perceptions, our findings suggest that a significant contingent of today's companies see value in maximizing experience," he said.

Among the other survey results, close to a quarter of surveyed employers estimate that the percentage of working boomers who postpone retirement could exceed 50% in the years ahead. Nearly half of respondents predict that more than 30% of boomers will fall into this category.

Perala also observed that some boomers may be motivated to work longer due to insufficient savings, but believes many others find work personally fulfilling. "As life spans increase, retirement at age 65 may increasingly be seen by employers and employees alike as a relic from the prior century," he added.

The survey also reported the Net Promoter Scores for BMO Retirement Services, a client loyalty metric introduced in the Harvard Business Review in 2003. Derived from client feedback analysis by the independent research firm, the score once again placed BMO Retirement Services within the "star performer" range.

The Net Promoter Score for BMO Retirement Services has generally trended upward since 2007, and this year was significantly above the level required for the star performer designation, according to Phil Enochs, Managing Director and Head of Relationship Management. "The score validates our intensive client service model and confirms that clients value our efforts," he said.

The survey is based on interviews with 412 retirement plan sponsors that have a minimum of $2 million in trust assets and use the BMO Retirement Services recordkeeping platform.

About BMO Financial Group
BMO Retirement Services is a part of BMO Global Asset Management and is a premiere, award-winning provider of retirement, trust and custody services.

We provide holistic, solution-driven services to our institutional and high-net-worth clients and the BMO family of mutual funds. With a 40-year legacy of fiduciary service – and goal of promoting retirement readiness to our more than 500,000 participants in over 1,500 retirement plans – BMO Global Asset Management clients include retirement plans, Taft-Hartley funds, government and public funds, not-for-profit organizations and family offices. We are a part of BMO Financial Group (NYSE: BMO), a fully diversified financial services firm with $531 billion total assets and more than 46,000 employees as of April 30, 2012.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group