Posted on 07/30/2007 7:31:07 PM PDT by traumer
Study Says Nearly One-Third of Older Baby Boomers Haven't Saved Enough for Retirement
NEW YORK (AP) -- Nearly one-third of baby boomers ages 51 to 61 are at risk of not having enough in savings to finance a comfortable retirement, according to a study being released Tuesday by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
With its analysis, the center has joined the national debate over how much savings is enough -- and has done so on the side that says there's a shortfall.
"We just don't believe people are saving too much," Alicia H. Munnell, a professor of management sciences at Boston College and director of the retirement research center, told The Associated Press.
A recently published academic study looked at the retirement preparedness of Americans who were in their 50s in 1992 and concluded that at least 80 percent had more than enough assets for retirement. Other scientists have argued that Americans may be saving too much.
The new Boston College study evaluated the same 51-61 age group, but looked at their finances in 2004, and found 32 percent to be "at risk" for not being able to maintain their preretirement standing of living in retirement.
The difference between the results, the center said, has to do with changes in the financial environment. For one thing, Americans now must wait until they're older than 65 to collect full Social Security benefits; meanwhile, lower interest rates mean they'll probably collect less on annuities and other investments. And many of today's workers do not have pensions like the earlier generation but must rely on worker-funded 401(k) retirement accounts, the center said.
Munnell said Americans have two choices -- to save more or to work longer.
For older people, "working just two years more ... can make a substantial difference" to retirement preparedness, she said.
"Working longer has a powerful effect because it shortens the period over which you have to support yourself and ... lets you put off tapping your 401(k) and collect higher Social Security benefits," she said.
The study was done using the center's National Retirement Risk Index, developed with funding from Nationwide Financial, the long-term savings and retirement product division of the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.
Keith Millner, senior vice president and head of Nationwide Financial's in-retirement division, said "there is a retirement crisis" because people are living longer, health care costs are escalating and workers aren't saving enough.
"The No. 1 issue is inertia -- people aren't doing anything," he said. "They need to get educated, get engaged."
Young workers especially can benefit from saving more because of the impact of compounding, he said.
Center for Retirement Research: http://www.bc.edu/crr
Nationwide Financial: http://www.nationwidefinancial.com
Spouse says 2 more years.
Great point about the marriages.. my family knows a number of people who should be filthy rich, but divorces in midlife meant they had to rebuild, and now they are just going to make it for retirement.
Of course, we could BE retired if we didn’t involuntarily give half of everything we earn to the big pig trough in the sky.
The slight problem is they all have the same plan, and the younger generation doesn’t have much money.
You’re exactly right. A lot of us are counting on the younger generation to come along and bail our butts out of the boat and it may not happen !!!
Yowch. I hope it wasn’t a huge percentage drop in the whole nest egg. It’s never fun watching it go down shortly before you need to use it.
Ever listen to this guy, Ray Lucia?
http://www.businesstalkradio.net/weekday_host/Archives/rl.shtml
He has an excellent, common-sense financial planning radio show (and a new book) that is specifically geared toward people that are about to retire.
You may enjoy it. (Then again, you may not.)
Will give it a look, thanks!
Where in any part of this thread did I bring up taxation or a vampiric lust for more of it?
How is pointing out that many boomers will be tapping their built up home equity to fund their retirement an attack on free-market capitalism or cheerleading for taxation?
If you could address #77.
many items were out of the question for a lot of us....prices are much lower now for you youngins, like calculators, which used to run up to $100 for a tiny little thing, or color tv's or microwaves and vhs players....
so some of we boomers paid high for household goods, paid high interest rates, lost pensions, lost retired medical benefits, exp. enormous property tax rates, and most of us didn't get breaks for our kids in college because we made slightly more than the poverty level.....
things weren't fair for us and won't be in the future...things won't be fair for you neither.....live with it...
You will be fine, no need to be worried.
One rule of thumb I’ve seen is that if you’ve accumulated 2 years gross salary in your 401k by your early 40s, you will have enough to basically maintain your standard of living with that money alone at the normal retirement age of 65.
If your income permits might I also suggest a Roth, where you can save for retirement, or anything else. All contributions can be accessed for any reason, and earnings can be used for higher education or first-time home buying.
I’m planning on utilizing the substantially equal periodic payments exception to access my retirement accounts without penalty, hopefully in my early 50s (but I’ll settle for mid-50s when I’ll only have one child left still in college.) C’mon son, get that scholarship! LOL
EXACTLY what I wrote, Ma’am. Some things were better then, some things are better now.
Some things were worse then, some are worse now.
For every thing the government “giveth” with one hand, they find a way to “taketh” something else with the other.
That’s why I say that it’s silly to assert that the Boomers are THE most-taxed generation ever.
There was an article in the New York Times a few weeks back about how $1 million in retirement savings was no longer enough to finace a "comfortable" retirement and the new standard was that you needed to have saved $5 million by age 65.
Sure, prices did go up in Florida, and probably more so than in Indiana.
But who says he’s moving to Florida? What if he wants to stay in Indiana where his family members are? And what if he wants to get a smaller house or even a condo, so he doesn’t have to mow the lawn? then, he makes out well.
Even if he DOES move to Florida (or Arizona, or wherever), maybe by buying a SMALLER house or condo, he’ll still come out ahead, even with housing appreciation in the retirement areas.
He shouldn’t make a move if it’s not advantageous for him to do so. But if it is, that retiree may benefit from such a move.
I agree with all...but I also think that far too many Boomers allowed the educational establishment to hoodwink them into thinking that parents must go broke paying for their kids’ college education.
Heck, no. Whatever my kids don’t get covered by scholarships, they can work and take out loans, like I did. And state school is just fine. I’m not hocking my wife’s and my financial future paying for a bunch of liberal know-nothings to try to indoctrinate my kids.
So now it's back to the level it was at the end of June. Duh. Don't fret the minor fluctuations in the market. How is it doing compared to where it was five years ago?
Mr. Boomer plans to stay in Indiana and face what options Mr. Boomer has is one of many options.
If retirement savings and social security will cover the bills. Then thats fine.
If it won’t cover, then the food, medical, gas, and housing bill money will have to come from somewhere. (Continues to work, children sending money, reverse mortgage, etc, etc....)
The issues facing boomers and retirement can be very different depending on savings, region, and demographics. I know that.
The other poster did. He implied that many boomers are retiring to Floriida and Arizona. Here are some quotes.
>>>we need to allow million of illegal immigrants into our country each year because they will eventually pool their money together and buy the homes retiring boomers need to unload.... and that they'll be moving to places like Florida and Arizona.<<<<
worst=worse
If your planning on retiring to the Hamptons, probably.
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