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Retiring baby boomers will
represent the largest ever numbers of people
entering retirement age. While some have benefited
from the relative affluence of this generation,
others have not been able to save for retirement or
have seen their funds decimated for stock market
declines. In addition, the specter of declining
health and the costs associated with it will be a
concern for the baby boomers and their society.
Retiring baby boomers are here now and many more are
to come. The post war baby boom produced an almost
unheard of growth in population from over 3 million
births a year.
This continued from 1946 to 1964 when the birth rate finally
dipped under that level again. The implication is that more
and more people are retiring each year and presenting more
demands that come along with both aging and retiring from
the active workforce.
A great many retiring baby boomers have
had a number of means to prepare financially for retirement
including Individual Retirement Accounts, 401K accounts,
stocks and bonds, and certificates of deposit, to name a
few. Some in top level positions may even have the so-called
“Golden Parachute” retirement benefits that will allow them
to live affluent lifestyles after leaving work.
Others may find themselves in
greatly reduced means with retirement either from poor planning,
low incomes that did not allow much savings or even from bad
luck such as retirement plans that relied heavily on stocks that
lost most of their value in the market setbacks of the last few
years. Many may be forced to keep working for years past the
time of traditional retirement at 65 because they cannot survive
on what their retirement savings and Social Security or its
equivalent would pay.
Some boomers
are also being affected by changes in the Social Security
regulations that have pushed back retirement age to 66 or 67,
and Congress is considering even higher age requirements for
benefits. Even though the government has assured the public that
Social Security and Medicare are fully funded for many years in
the future, many people still worry about the solvency of these
programs.
Retiring baby boomers like all aging people also have
concerns about their health and the diseases that all too often
plague senior citizens. As their health care cost rise and rise,
their future income in retirement is likely to remain fixed.
Even though Medicare covers 80% of most expenses, retiring baby
boomers will have to find a way to pay for the remaining 20% or
to afford supplemental insurance to cover it.
the Baby Boom
Generation evolution continues....