Can Baby Boomers Afford a Youthful Lifestyle in Retirement? [VIDEO]
April 15th, 2008
[VIDEO] Just because Baby Boomers look in our youthfull 30's doesn't mean we still have 30 more years to prepare for retirement.
It's official. Baby Boomers are getting younger - "60 is the New 40"! As the creators and rulers of the Youth Culture, we are not about giving up our title easily. Boomers are getting facelifts, popping Viagra, receiving Botox injections, and dyeing our hair - all in the name of maintaining a youthful appearance.
The question is, will the Baby Boomer Generation have the financial resources to maintain a vigorous lifestyle and enjoy the activities of renewed youth? Turning back the clock when it comes to physical appearance is one thing, but it's quite another when the topic is retirement planning. Just because we look in our 30's doesn't mean we still have 30 more years to prepare for retirement. No magic pill can make up for years of little retirement planning or give us more years to prepare. When it comes to retirement planning, 60 is still the same old 60, and for many of us Boomers it's looming up ahead like a major black cloud, threatening to rain on our parade.
76 million Baby Boomers were born between 1946-1964. Today, we represent nearly a third of the population in the United States. Between 2011 and 2029, Boomers will reach the traditional retirement age of 65 at the rate of about one every eight seconds.
As for our retirement planning, most Baby Boomers grew up believing the traditional three-legged stool model of Social Security, personal savings, and company pension would apply to us. But today with the decrease in company-supported pension plans and uncertainty about the long-term viability of Social Security, that three-legged stool has been turned into a pogo stick.
While there's no question that many Baby Boomers are in a precarious position when it comes to retirement, we do appear to be facing the situation with confidence - but not a particularly with a firm grip on reality. 75 percent of Boomers believe we'll be better prepared than our parents to face retirement, but 50 percent of us don't know how much we'll need for it. In short, while we're confident we will enjoy a comfortable retirement, we still have no idea how we will get there.
Indications show that Baby Boomers can still afford to take a more of a "What, Me Worry?" approach to our retirement. We are saving at approximately the same rate as our parents and that we have accumulated more real wealth and earn more real income than their parents did at a comparable age.
No matter which view Baby Boomers have of retirement planning you take, both optimists and pessimists agree that Baby Boomers must take time to do a "reality check" and take some basic proactive steps to secure our retirement. One thing is clear; Baby Boomers because of our sheer numbers will redefine what it means to be retired. We are going to want retirement on our terms rather than fitting into a system that doesn't make sense us.
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