BOSTON, Jan. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- More than four in ten investors (45 percent) plan to work during their retirement years, with 34 percent of that group planning to take a new part-time job and 29 percent continuing to work at their existing job on a part-time basis, according to the fourth quarter 2014 John Hancock Investor Sentiment Survey, a quarterly poll of affluent investors.

Their reasons for doing so are varied. Asked to select from a list of all applicable reasons for working in retirement, 70 percent said that working in retirement will help them to stay mentally and physically healthier, while 60 percent said they like feeling productive, and half (51 percent) stated they would be bored without work. Just over a third (35 percent) wish to keep contributing financially to their families, while about a third (32 percent) enjoy their current job.

Whether working or not, many investors (65 percent) expect their quality of life in retirement to be better than their parents', with three in ten (31 percent) saying it will be much better. However, opinions toward their children's quality of life in retirement are evenly split, with a third saying it will be better (33 percent), the same (34 percent), or worse (33 percent).

Many investors surveyed (42 percent) are content with their retirement preparation and would not change anything. Nearly three in ten (27 percent) wish they had saved more from the beginning, and 16 percent wish they had started planning earlier.

As for retirement age, sixty percent will retire completely between the ages of 60 and 69, with a third (33 percent) planning to retire and stop working altogether between the ages of 65 and 69. The median expected retirement age of investors in the survey is 65. But a surprising number plan to keep going: 14 percent say they will retire between 70 and 74 years of age, and four percent say they will retire at age 75 or older.

About the John Hancock Investor Sentiment Survey
John Hancock's Investor Sentiment Survey is a quarterly poll of affluent investors. The survey measures investors' feelings about the current economic climate and their evaluations of what represents a good or bad investment given the current environment. The poll also asks consumers about their confidence in reaching key financial goals and their attitudes toward specific financial products and services. This online survey was conducted by independent research firm Greenwald & Associates. A total of 1,139 investors were surveyed from November 10th to November 21st, 2014. To qualify, respondents were required to participate at least to some extent in their household's financial decision-making process, have a household income of at least $75,000, and assets of $100,000 or more. The data were weighted by age and education to reflect the population of Americans matching the survey's qualification requirements. In a similarly-sized random sample survey, the margin of error would be plus or minus 2.96 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. Due to rounding and missing categories, numbers presented may not always total to 100 percent.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife
John Hancock Financial is a division of Manulife, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Operating as Manulife in Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, our group of companies offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were C$663 billion (US$591 billion) as at September 30, 2014. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers and administers a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

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SOURCE John Hancock Financial