During Retirement Planning Week, you might want to share a survey sponsored by New York Life. According to the survey, retirees report a desire to have started retirement earlier. This was based on a survey of 62-70 year old retirees revealing that 46 percent wished they had started their retirement sooner. The survey found that the average “sweet spot” of earlier retirement was four years sooner than respondents had actually retired.

The survey asked retirees age 62-70 with $100,000 of investable assets to report on their wish to retire earlier if they could ensure the same level of financial security they had when they actually retired. The survey was sponsored by New York Life.

“Much of the dialogue around retirement has been focused on people enjoying longer lives and ensuring they don’t run out of money. What the survey shows is that retirees, if given the opportunity, would want four or five years at the front end of their retirement, when they are healthiest, most active and able to get the most out of their retirement savings,” said David Cruz, senior managing director, New York Life.

In addition, the survey revealed:

• 51 percent of retirees who were 60 or older when they retired reported they would have preferred an earlier retirement.
• Both men and women reported similar feelings about retiring earlier; 47 percent of men would have retired sooner, and 46 percent of women would do the same.
• Similarly, men and women wish for nearly the same amount of time for their earlier retirement-- men wanting to have retired 4.53 years sooner, and women reporting 3.96.
• Three quarters (74%) of those who would have retired earlier if they could have the same level of financial security report that they would be interested in hearing more about financial products that could have helped make this possible.

“During this week designated National Retirement Planning Week, we hope the perspective retirees offer helps future generations plan toward a retirement as early as they wish,” added Cruz.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs in 2014. A national sample of 750 retired adults aged 62 – 70 with at least $100,000 in investable assets from Ipsos’ U.S. online panel was interviewed online, with an estimated margin of error of +/- 3.6 percentage points.