The 6.2 Million Consumers Working Past Retirement Age Have Big Investment Portfolios, Represent Opportunity for Financial Marketers

NEW YORK, March 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The 6.2 million American adults over the age of 65 who are employed full-time or part-time are financially sound and have robust investment portfolios, according to a new study from Scarborough. These "Retired for Hire" consumers are slightly more likely than the average adult to have an annual household income of $150K+ and are 51 percent more likely to live in a home valued at $500K or more. These are just a few of the findings released today by Scarborough in the "Retired for Hire" complimentary study, available for download free of charge at www.scarborough.com/freestudies.php.

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The Retired for Hire consumer group also has a wide range of investments and uses a potpourri of financial services. They are more likely than the average American to have:

• Stocks or stock options as a household investment (23 percent more likely)
• Second home or real estate property (36 percent more likely)
• Mutual funds (27 percent more likely)
• Money market funds ( 46 percent more likely)

Retired for Hire exceeds the national average when it comes to utilizing financial services such as accountants, financial planners, and full-service stockbrokers in their household.

"Banking and financial advertisers have a niche, but powerful market opportunity in Retired for Hire," said Howard Goldberg, senior vice president of agency services, Scarborough.  "It is important to develop marketing strategies that are crafted around Retired for Hire's interests and needs, which, as our report states, involves investments and philanthropy."

In addition to the banking and financial industry, office supplies providers and home improvement stores have a robust base in Retired for Hire. As a business group, Retired for Hire are significantly more likely than the average American to be self-employed (140 percent more likely) or a small business owner (143 percent more likely).

Therefore, they are frequently making purchasing decisions for their companies. Retired for Hire are 32 percent more likely to make information technology corporate decisions, 38 percent more likely to make hardware/software choices, and they also select vendors for overnight delivery services, business travel and office equipment. Almost one-quarter (22 percent) of this consumer group shopped Walmart for office supplies during the past three months, making it the leading office supply store for this consumer group. However, Retired for Hire are 19 percent more likely than average to shop Office Depot and 18 percent more likely to shop Staples.

Retired for Hire represent some of the country's biggest home improvers. This consumer group is 13 percent more likely to have spent $10K or more on all home improvements during the past year. Forty-one percent made a purchase at Home Depot during the past year, however they are 29 percent more likely than average to buy at Ace Hardware.

Additional information is available in the Scarborough report, "Retired for Hire," available for download at www.scarborough.com/freestudies.php. Scarborough Research is also distributing copies at this week's 4A's Transformation Conference in Austin, TX. The full report covers:

• Retired for Hire lifestyles, including their interest in environmental issues
• Philanthropy, as Retired for Hire represent some of the country's most avid donors to a wide variety of causes
• Retired for Hire's upward trends in technology adoption, particularly as it pertains to household items such as HDTVs and broadband
• Media usage, including television viewing, radio listening and newspaper reading

For additional information about Retired for Hire or any other data set available from Scarborough Research, please contact Julie O'Donnell at 678-455-6213 or [email protected].

About Scarborough

Scarborough (www.scarborough.com, [email protected]) measures American life. Our consumer insights reflect shopping patterns, media usage across platforms, and lifestyle trends for adults. Media professionals and marketers use Scarborough insights to make smarter marketing/business decisions on things like ad placement, multicultural targeting, and sponsorship opportunities.  The company's core syndicated consumer insight studies in 77 Top-Tier Markets, its Multi-Market Study and its national USA+ Study are Media Rating Council (MRC) accredited. Other products and services include Scarborough Mid-Tier Local Market Studies, Hispanic Studies and Custom Research Solutions. Scarborough measures 2,000 consumer categories and serves a broad client base that includes marketers, advertising agencies, print and electronic media (broadcast and cable television, radio stations), sports teams and leagues and out-of-home media companies. Surveying more than 210,000 adults annually, Scarborough is a joint venture between Arbitron Inc. (www.arbitron.com) and The Nielsen Company (www.nielsen.com).

SOURCE Scarborough