Business owners delay retirement

A new report has found that more Australian workers are now delaying retirement as a result of the global financial crisis.

According to PKF Chartered Accountants & Business Advisers’ second annual Business & Population Monitor, which examines demographic trends in Australia and their impact on the business and economic environment, a large number of business owners are delaying their retirement due to underperforming superannuation and weakened retirement income prospects, largely as a result of the financial crisis.

Andrew Kesik, enterprise advisory partner with PKF, said that business owners were at risk of intensifying the ‘Prince Charles effect’, by leaving many who had been waiting for retirements to clear the path to their promotion waiting longer than they had planned.

“Many business owners who had been looking to build their super nest-eggs now see themselves as having no choice but to continue working in order to rebuild their assets so they can support themselves through retirement,” he said.

“This muddies the waters in terms of succession planning, as employees who had been seeing the business owner’s retirement as a means to a promotion will now have to wait,” he added.

Kesik noted that poor company performance, as a result of the economic downturn was also contributing to business owners remaining longer with their companies.

“Although the economic downturn in Australia has been less severe than many other countries, the GFC has still brought significant implications for many Australian businesses,” he said.