High net-worth individuals now prefer the words “next chapter” and “second act” instead of “retirement,” according to Julie Littlechild, founder and CEO of Absolute Engagement.

A joint study by the research and consulting firm as well as the fee-only wealth management firm Savant Wealth Management found other examples of the ways in which retirement is changing. Only half of 750 survey respondents said they plan to stop working completely at the end of their full-time careers. In fact, almost 70% said they “would transition to a different kind of work or work on their own terms if they thought it was an option.”

Approximately a third of the respondents pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as altering their vision for retirement, especially among respondents aged fewer than 45 years.

“While 68 percent of those surveyed said they would need to work longer as a result of the pandemic, nearly a third said they would stop working earlier, and a quarter indicated they would spend their time in retirement differently,” according to the report. 

For many, it’s not all about the money, however. Twenty percent of the respondents said they had retired, only to start working again for a sense of personal fulfillment.

Although almost two-thirds of respondents indicated that they want to retire before the age of 65, 55% of those with an eye toward early retirement said “they would need a clear vision for life in retirement before deciding to retire.”