Almost Half of CFOs Still Plan to Retire on Time

Economic conditions have led about a quarter of chief financial officers (CFOs) to delay their retirement – bad news for those who were hoping to move up when the boss stopped working.

That’s the news from Robert Half Management Resources’ latest survey of 1,400 U.S. CFOs. In addition to the 27 percent of CFOs who said they’re “extending their working years,” another 25 percent said they had “more uncertainty and cannot predict” when they would retire.

If you’re a glass-almost-half-full kind of person, look at it this way: 43 percent said their retirement plans hadn’t changed and another 5 percent planned to spend “fewer years” working than they had intended to five years ago.

When asked why they planned to work longer, 62 percent of the CFOs said the economy, 9 percent chalked it up to family concerns. Only 2 percent selected the best of all possible reasons to stay on the job: “Renewed desire for the stimulation work provides.”

Bottom line: there's a nearly 50/50 chance that instead of getting promoted to CFO you’re going to be working for a boss who would rather be playing golf.