"Who needs income if you have wealth?" ask Bank of America economists Stephen Juneau and Aditya Bhave, seeking to explain a precipitous drop in workforce participation by older workers.

The share of people aged 55 and over in work has shrunk from more than 40% before the pandemic to 36.9% as of July. The trend has picked up in the past two years, during which time the S&P 500 has soared nearly 40%. "The resulting surge in wealth has likely made retirement an easier choice for many," Juneau and Bhave write.