Middle-Income Boomers Put Brakes On Retirement

Most middle-income baby boomers are delaying their retirement by an average of five years, according to a new study.

The study, released by the Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center for a Secure Retirement, found that 73 percent of middle-income boomers are rethinking retirement and of those, 79 percent are delaying their retirement by an average of five years.

The study, Middle-Income Boomers, Financial Security and the New Retirement, which focused on 500 middle-income Americans between ages 47 and 65 with income between $25,000 and $75,000, found that one in seven (14 percent) believe that they will never be able to retire due to the turbulent economy.

According to the study, 71 percent worry about outliving their money once they retire, 68 percent have experienced a decline in the value of their retirement accounts within the past three years and more than half (55 percent) have saved less than $100,000. One-fifth (19 percent) have saved less than $10,000.

The study found that three out of four (75 percent) expect that their retirement will involve work in some form and more than half (57 percent) say that they will have to work for financial reasons.

Other interesting findings of the study include:

• Uncovered health-care expenses (80 percent), inflation (79 percent) and living longer than their money lasts (71 percent) are the top three financial concerns that middle-income Boomers have about retirement.

• Pensions and guaranteed income are what sixty percent (60 percent) of middle-income Boomers envy most about the retirement of previous generations.

• Three out of four (73 percent) middle-income Americans age 47 to 65 say that their financial situation, not age, is now the key indicator for when to retire.

• Three out of four (75 percent) middle-income Boomers expect to work in retirement; more than half (57 percent) of those expect they will have to work for financial reasons.

• Two out of three (68 percent) middle-income Americans age 47 to 65 have experienced a decline in the value of their retirement accounts since 2008; one-third (30 percent) of those have not seen any rebound in value as of March 2011.

The study was conducted in March 2011 by the independent research firm The Blackstone Group. A nationwide sample of 500 American baby boomers (ages 47 and 65) who are not yet retired and have an annual household income of between $25,000 and $75,000 participated in the Internet-based survey. Significant sub-sample differences were tested at the 95 percent confidence level.

http://www.fa-mag.com/fa-news/7449-alarming-number-of-middle-income-boomers-put-brakes-on-retirement.html