(Source: Business Wire)The U.S. division of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF, TSX:SLF) today released the latest edition of its UnretirementSM Index, which reveals 65 percent of American workers will delay their retirement by at least one year -- an 11 percent increase since the end of 2008. The Index also indicates 27 percent of Americans now believe they will need to work at least five years longer than expected because of the current economic environment. The third release of Sun Life's biannual Index gauges how economic, financial, and societal forces affect working Americans, and forecasts their future retirement decisions that will impact individuals, the government, employers and the larger economy.

Sun Life's current research also shows more Americans plan to remain in the workforce past the traditional retirement age of 67. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed say they will work full- or part-time at 67, and another new high of 28 percent of US workers across all age groups are planning to work full time past the age of 67.

The Index also reflects deepening concerns among American workers about their planning and overall confidence levels regarding retirement. Only 28 percent of working Americans are now very confident that they have done a good job preparing for retirement. In addition, only 22 percent are very confident that they will be able to take care of medical expenses and less than half (40%) are very confident that they will have enough money for basic living expenses in retirement. Overall, less than one in four workers are very confident they will be able to live the kind of life they want in retirement.

"Our latest Unretirement Index results show a watershed transformation over the past year in the way people regard work and retirement," said Wes Thompson, President of Sun Life Financial U.S. "The notion of Unretirement has become a reality for a majority of workers who increasingly see working in their later years as a necessity instead of a luxury. The Unretirement Index also shows how lower levels of confidence are affecting the American psyche and psychologically explain why Americans are making these decisions that impact our society."

The motivations for working past traditional retirement age have also evolved over the life of the Index. A year ago, the top reason cited for working past the age of 67 was "to stay mentally engaged." Today, the most popular reason is "to earn enough money to live well," cited by 84 percent of Americans. Subsequent reasons remain "staying mentally engaged" (81%), "I love my career" (65%), and "for health care benefits" (63%).