‘Alarming Number’ Of Middle-Income Boomers Put Brakes On Retirement

[mickeyd]

Here's another article about how fellow boomers are doomed to not retire or retire not as planned. Still waiting for an article that talks about LBYM boomers and how they (we?) are not only retiring early, but who have ample assets that will probably last until they make it to triple digits.

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 CSR’s 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.

‘Alarming Number’ Of Middle-Income Boomers Put Brakes On Retirement

 

[nun]

Don't hold your breath for that article. We ERers are a vanishingly small demographic. We go against societies norms....we don't value work as much as we should and we don't spend as much as we should......we're down right un-american.

 

[lemming]

I am leery of surveys that end up with the answer that sounds like the equivelent of
Get off my Lawn !
If a stranger calls and asks me if I have enough money to retire or not I'll tell him no-I'll work forever..click. All the other answers keep me talking to telemarketer too long.

 

[liveitup]

Don't hold your breath for that article. We ERers are a vanishingly small demographic. We go against societies norms....we don't value work as much as we should and we don't spend as much as we should......we're down right un-american.

And darn proud of it!

 

[flyfishnevada]

To be expected. The economy is in the tank, portfolios have been shrinking, people are taking pay cuts and are unemployed. I wouldn't doubt people are pessimistic. 14% isn't really all that high.

As for the poor planners, those percentages sound about right. And who doesn't worry about outliving their money? The question is how much and how often. I'd guess everyone on this board without a pension "worries" about outliving their money.

 

[FIREd]

14% isn't really all that high.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Nords]

‘Alarming Number’ Of Middle-Income Boomers Put Brakes On Retirement

A survey of only 500?

Sounds like the blind journalists leading the ignorant respondents...

 

[mickeyd]

And who doesn't worry about outliving their money?

I don't.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

"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."

What a pile o' crap in that article. If I was in that age group, and that was my peak income, I too would have problems with my personal vision of retirement.

 

[Mike1968]

hummm. I am in the lower ends of the age and income group and I think I will be able to retire at the latest at FRA because my monthly expenses are low and I have no debt. Of course, inflation, heathcare and Mr. Market has to play somewhat nice to me.

 

[East Texas]

I sure am glad I retired before I found out I wasn't supposed to be able to ......

 

[Animorph]

They make $25k to $75k and at age 47+, 19% have saved less than $10k, and only 14% think they'll never be able to retire. They sound a little optimistic to me.

 

[megacorp-firee]

Quote:
Originally Posted by flyfishnevada
And who doesn't worry about outliving their money?

I don't.

+1

 

[Independent]

The full report is here: http://www.centerforasecureretirement.com/media/77155/18249_middle_income_boomers_may2011.pdf

The "methodology" section says it is "internet based". I wonder how they get a random sample.

78% see themselves working in retirement.
Their perception of "previous generations" is that only 16% of them worked in retirement.

Other big perceived differences:
Staying physically fit: 81% vs. 27%
Learning a new skill: 60% vs. 21%

Staying home, watching TV..: 48% vs. 75%
Slowing down: 35% vs. 77%
Depending on family: 15% vs. 69%

I wish they would break this down by current age. I can believe that the younger responders can't imagine themselves growing old.

 

[scrabbler1]

Quote:
Originally Posted by flyfishnevada
And who doesn't worry about outliving their money?

+1

Same here. My money will outlive me.

 

[Rustic23]

Ever wonder why an Insurance company would spend the money to put out such a flashy document? Could the conclusions be preconceived for the benefit of the company?

I always remember the statement of one of my professors 'Statistics never lie..... Statisticians do!' One of the things we don't know, or I missed, is the distribution of the survey. The salary distribution would effect the answers. i.e more lower salaries one answer, higher another. Age would effect. Those closer to 45 would tend to give one answer, closer to 65 should have a different view. Also remember Dewy was going to beat Truman, well that is what a phone survey said. It is now one of the classics of stat classes that points out the method of collecting data can effect the outcome. Think their conclusions would have been different if they had of use this board for their random sample? Just another thought, just how did they do a survey of exactly 500 people in an internet survey? And, was it really random?

I am not saying that baby boomer are or are not prepared for retirement. I just find the use of the statistics interesting.

 

[beowulf]

It's all about selling annuities. That's what these companies do. Of course, with less than $20K in the bank, I wonder who their audience is??

 

[Webzter]

It's all about selling annuities. That's what these companies do. Of course, with less than $20K in the bank, I wonder who their audience is??

people looking for $20k annuities of course!

 

[beowulf]

That would be $100 a month or so Two extra large size bags of Alpo??

 

[Webzter]

That would be $100 a month or so Two extra large size bags of Alpo??

Note, the $20k annuity was tongue in cheek... but, as a quick, fun thought experiment

$100 a month for food would buy:

Month 1:
50 lbs hard red spring wheat berries - $25
50 lbs great northern white kidney beans - $30
25 lbs powdered milk - $33
10 lbs peanuts - $15
pack of veggie seeds - $2

Month 2:
1 lb italian seasoning - $6
1 lb cinnamon - $5
12 lb short grain brown rice - $25
10 lb rolled oats - $10
5 lb honey - $20 (grade AA, not pure clover honey)
1 lb active dry yeast - $6.50
20 lbs potatoes - $10
10 lbs lentils - $10
2 packs veggie seeds - $7

Of course, first thing I'd look at, since that's more food than one or two people can eat, is splitting cost with another family so that I could put about half of the budget on veggies while waiting for mine to grow.

 

[East Texas]

Note, the $20k annuity was tongue in cheek... but, as a quick, fun thought experiment

$100 a month for food would buy:

Month 1:
50 lbs hard red spring wheat berries - $25
50 lbs great northern white kidney beans - $30
25 lbs powdered milk - $33
10 lbs peanuts - $15
pack of veggie seeds - $2

Month 2:
1 lb italian seasoning - $6
1 lb cinnamon - $5
12 lb short grain brown rice - $25
10 lb rolled oats - $10
5 lb honey - $20 (grade AA, not pure clover honey)
1 lb active dry yeast - $6.50
20 lbs potatoes - $10
10 lbs lentils - $10
2 packs veggie seeds - $7

Of course, first thing I'd look at, since that's more food than one or two people can eat, is splitting cost with another family so that I could put about half of the budget on veggies while waiting for mine to grow.

It looks like we have the same grocery list. The only the exception is the wheat berries. We use hard winter white.

 

[beowulf]

No meat? No fish? Not everyone is a vegetarian.

 

[Webzter]

No meat? No fish? Not everyone is a vegetarian.

Well, I spent my teen years well under the poverty line. We rarely had meat in our house and, when we did, it was generally chicken.. and on sale. Things like beef (even hamburger) were a rarity. So, when thinking of a bare essentials budget, "luxury" items like meat generally don't occur to me (I am, after all, a product of my environment).

However, $100 in month 3 would buy you a nice brood of chicks and also a good clutch of rabbits. Assuming you're careful about culling the rabbits, you should be able to raise those indefinitely and they're fairly easy to clean.

If you intend to raise chickens for meat, you should get at least 20 hens per rooster. If you're simply interested in eggs then 4-6 layers should keep you well-stocked with eggs for several years. The chickens should be able to survive purely on bugs from late spring-fall in your yard and feed for winter would be minimal (or you just cull them in the fall and then buy chicks again next spring)

You could supplement with a cheap hunting license and a box of bullets assuming you already own a gun.

Owning a goat might be an option although a cow is out of the question for most houses. Likewise with pigs.

Still, we're a long way off from your original fear of Alpo

 

[W2R]

Many years ago my ex and I had a stream running through our back yard in Virginia. The fishing in that stream was great. We went fishing for 2-3 hours every day after work, and ate the fish that we caught about five days a week (and froze any left over for days when we came up empty-handed). We caught mostly bluegill, crappy, catfish, and an occasional bass. We used the money we saved to help pay for him to take flying lessons.

It wasn't a hardship, since we both liked to fish. But, we sure saved a lot of money that way.

 

[73ss454]

So, he learned to fly and flew the coop?