Baby Boomers are Now Delaying Retirement

[Retire Soon]

I've always been careful with my money too, as many people on this forum have reported. I retired at the age of 55, not really an ER by the standards of this forum, but well below the average age of people in the U.S. which is 62. I drove used cars most of my life, and didn't even buy a new one until I was 50 and am still driving it.

DW and I were always careful with our money. We did not deprive ourselves, but saved as much as we could our 401k and 403b.

We did make a move that has helped a lot. I'd probably be working now If we hadn't took some risks. We traveled out of state one Memorial Day weekend in 2004 an bought a house and rented it out for two years. The area we bought it in was still a long ways from peaking out in real estate prices, so our house is still worth much more than what we paid for it.

In the summer of 2006 we sold our house in San Diego. This was not at the peak of the market, but far away from the bottom.

After selling our San Diego house, we moved our of state the same day that escrow closed. We now live in a modest home (1630 square feet) on a half-acre of land that is free and clear.

Whenever visit friends in San Diego they always remind us that we sold at the right time as housing prices have crashed there. I have admit that DW and I are fortunate. We have made some good decisions, but we're also fortunate that we cashed out of the housing boom at the right time. Also, the fact that I am now collecting a modest cola'd pension is also an asset.

The poor decisions made by financial corporations and poor oversight by the government during the housing boom will have a permanent and lasting impact on the lives of many Baby Boomers. Many people in this age group did not help themselves either by buying houses they couldn't afford and leasing or financing luxury vehicles that were far above their means. Now many of them may end up working past the age of 65. This is the price they'll have to pay for striving to impress others.

 

[guest]

.....Sure, I'm missing my goal nest egg since the market has been unfriendly this past year, but I'm not going to let it change my mind. I have 95 days to go.

Same here. Fell a little short of the goals but the AA is such that nothing is changing even in these times so when things pick up it will only get better. I set my retirement date for the 25th of December.....just a little gift for me!

 

[Budman]

Same here. Fell a little short of the goals but the AA is such that nothing is changing even in these times so when things pick up it will only get better. I set my retirement date for the 25th of December.....just a little gift for me!

I like your Christmas gift! I've toyed with that idea myself, but I think I will just work until the last day of the year. Everyone will be on vacation anyway, so it should be pretty low keyed. I'll just clean out my desk during that time. My real day of joy will be Jan 2nd, the day that I would have returned to work after New Years!

 

[ziggy29]

Why all the hate for McMansion owners? Geeze, get over it. I'm a boomer, live in a mortgage-free McMansion, and drive a big-ass SUV. I also "get to retire" whenever I choose and you are correct, I chose this lifestyle and I am not helpless. And no worries, I can still easily pay my utility bills so relax, I won't be asking you for money.

Neither of the pieces you quoted were painting a broad brush over all owners of large and pricey homes.

The point is that there are many who do so and then struggle, and they seem to want our sympathy and perhaps our financial assistance at the first sign of struggling. It sounds like these things are not beyond your means, so I don't see how anything you quoted could have been directed at you or those in your situation.

 

[W2R]

The events of the past few weeks on Wall Street are causing many Baby Boomers to consider spending more years in the w*rk force before retiring.

With the spend and borrow mentality Americans have embraced, especially over the past decade, it should come as no surprise that savings took a back seat to McMansions, luxury suv's and exotic vacations.

WSJ published the results of a recent survey by Employee Benefit Research Institute which showed the percentage of people over the age of 55 who had reached certain savings and investment levels:

Less than $10,000 --28%

$10,000 to $24,999--8%

$25,000-49,999--- 7%

$50,000-$99,999-- 16%

$100,000-$249,999--18%

$250,000 or more-- 23%

It is very sad how Americans who have been overly influenced by mass advertising and peer pressure to keep up with the Joneses have misplaced their priorities and will now will suffer the consequences by having to w*rk longer than what was originally planned. Deferred gratification is quickly disappearing and has been supplanted by our need to impress others with lives of extravagance.

Baby Boomers Delay Retirement - WSJ.com

This is a discouraging situation, indeed.

Like many here, I have little or no sympathy for those who chose a luxurious lifestyle beyond their means that ended up delaying their retirement, simply because they could borrow enough money to do so. Warnings about the consequences of this type of spending were everywhere, yet they went unheeded and these individuals essentially reaped the consequences of their spending habits.

You can buy a lot of things with money; the choices are staggering. For now I choose to buy TIME with my money. That's what ER will give me - - time to enjoy my life.

If someone could not afford both a McMansion and retirement, but chose the house, I do not expect him to feel sorry for me because I live in a small house. I am perfectly happy. But he should also realize that I will not feel sorry for him either if he has to work until the day he dies as a consequence. We make our choices and must live with them.

Now if some other person can afford both a luxurious lifestyle and retirement without taking any undue risks with their investments, more power to them! I hope they do not feel they are entitled to my envy, though. I am very satisfied with my life.

 

[Hobo]

Don't underestimate the benefit of living abroad if you are planning ER and can muster a per month income of $3000/month. I have lived in Indonesia for 7 years after I reached age 55. Southeast Asia is filled with expats living very inexpensively. You can buy a nice house for under $100,000. Health care is about 15% of what you pay in the US - and good doctors at good health facilities are available. The weather is almost perfect, so no heating cost and electricity is cheap.

My point is this: If you can't - or don't want to live in the same place you have been for years, then consider retirement abroad. Most Americans have no idea how cheap everything can be in other countries. Plus, in most countries you can have maids, a young wife/ husband (if you need one), and a lot more luxuries than you could ever afford in the US. With satellite TV and Internet life feels just like home. Plus lots of new things to do, places to travel - the list is endless.

I would never consider living in the US, paying taxes, and high prices for everything. If you do have a brain aneurysm you can fly home and use Medicare - or like me just plan on checking out of Hotel Earth.

 

[Retire Soon]

I suppose we should just take comfort and be thankful in knowing that there'll be plenty of Baby Boomers who'll still be w*rking to fund our Social Security and Medicare.

 

[lets-retire]

What's that saying, "Most people can look wealthy or be wealthy, but not both." I think it's a good thing that those people, who chose to look wealth are having a bit of a time right now. Maybe their youngin's will figure it out and quit spending like drunk sailors.

I bite my tongue pretty much daily at work. I don't like to let people know how I'm doing financially but, assuming my expenses stay consistent, allowing for inflation, I will be able to easily retire on just my pension. I don't count on Social Security. Anything I save will be cushion and/or retirement lifestyle. The people I work with seem to be stuck in one of two situations spend until there's nothing left or let's time the market. It takes all of my effort not to call my co-workers idiots, for just blowing through their paychecks. Maybe this financial trouble will open some of their eyes, but I doubt it.

 

[Hobo]

Yes, I think it is safe to say... if you don't have some sort of plan or program on how to save and invest your money by the time you are 45 or 50, then life is not going to be fun when you hit ANY retirement age.

 

[harley]

Same here. Fell a little short of the goals but the AA is such that nothing is changing even in these times so when things pick up it will only get better. I set my retirement date for the 25th of December.....just a little gift for me!

Not to argue against a great Christmas gift, but just one point. A friend of mine was going to do a similar thing, except on her birthday, which is in the general vicinity of Christmas. Then someone pointed out to her that if she didn't retire until after the 1st of Jan, she would get her entire year's allotment of vacation credited. That was 6 weeks, and she just turned it in for extra pay. If you have a similar set up, it's a nice reward for 6 more days of showing up at the office and surfing the forums.

 

[Beryl]

My point is this: If you can't - or don't want to live in the same place you have been for years, then consider retirement abroad. Most Americans have no idea how cheap everything can be in other countries. Plus, in most countries you can have maids, a young wife/ husband (if you need one), and a lot more luxuries than you could ever afford in the US. With satellite TV and Internet life feels just like home. Plus lots of new things to do, places to travel - the list is endless.

Many of us are considering this option. More people than many would imagine over the last 6 months have informed me that they may remove their assets out of the US and live abroad.

 

[Finance Dave]

Waiting for lifetime medical.

Boy that would be nice. My company doesn't offer that. My biggest concern about ER is how to afford health care coverage. We have some options, but none of them look that good to me. We'll just have to save more, and invest in a healthy lifestyle (I've lost 22 lbs in the past year, wife and I both work out 3x a week, and have reduced fat and meat intakes by 50%.). I am hoping that will both make it easier to get health care insurance (if I get fat and contract diabetes it may be tough) and reduce our health care expenses in ER. I know that a healthy lifestyle cannot fix all ailments, but it at least increases our chances.

Dave

 

[P.S.]

Why all the hate for McMansion owners? Geeze, get over it. I'm a boomer, live in a mortgage-free McMansion, and drive a big-ass SUV. I also "get to retire" whenever I choose and you are correct, I chose this lifestyle.....

b/c this life style is unsustainable for this earth.
here's another broad paint stroke: the sense of entitlement displayed by baby boomers continuously amazes me.

 

[harley]

b/c this life style is unsustainable for this earth.
here's another broad paint stroke: the sense of entitlement displayed by baby boomers continuously amazes me.

So, oh enlightened one, what size recycled plastic jug house do you live in?

 

[P.S.]

1100 sq feet non-recycled 1950's home, including the office/ BR from which dh telecommutes.

thank you for the compliment, but I would hardly count myself amongst the enlightened, considering how much junk I have bought during my adult life. ...am though, continually on the path to reduce my carbon footprint. You know, trying to tread lighter.

 

[Geoffrey]

Possible silver lining . . . if the financial crisis is bad enough, and lasts long enough, perhaps a sufficient number of baby boomers will delay retirement -- thus helping solve the social security conundrum. The toll exacted by an extra 5 - 10 years of the daily grind should ensure that few will live long enough to collect substantial SS benefits. Maybe this is what "Powers that Be" had planned all along . . . "the final solution of the Social Security question"

 

[Hobo]

1100 sq feet non-recycled 1950's home, including the office/ BR from which dh telecommutes.

thank you for the compliment, but I would hardly count myself amongst the enlightened, considering how much junk I have bought during my adult life. ...am though, continually on the path to reduce my carbon footprint. You know, trying to tread lighter.

I am a retired Environmental Engineer - I worked in this field for 30 years, before I sold the company and retired at age 50.

I'll give you an axiom to life by... by far the largest impact you ever made on this earth was on the day you were born. The second largest impact is when you have a child. The mere existence of humans on earth is irreversibly consuming, destroying, changing, and polluting this earth.

What a joke, "carbon footprint". Every ounce of food you eat has millions of carbon molecules. Every time you breath in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide you leave leave another carbon footprint.

Nothing, I repeat, nothing can be done to stop the progressive and irreversible destruction of the planet earth EXCEPT by reducing the population from the current 6 billion to some number well below 1 billion...100 million would be optimum.

Every second that passes brings you a little closer to death. And every second that passes brings the earth closer to massive starvation and the collapse of civilization as we know it today. It is not a question of "if", it is a question of "when". And their is not a whole lot that humans can do to change our date with destiny.

With 6 billion people on earth, it makes no difference whatsoever if you tread lightly or tread heavily. The end result will be the same. If you were ever looking for a good excuse to enjoy life to the fullest, now you have it.

 

[haha]

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[CuppaJoe]

Happy days are here again,....

Psst, Shirley Temple in "The Little Colonel."

 

[clifp]

Put my oldest sister and her husband in the folks who had planned to retire this year at 60 but isn't. I feel somewhat sorry for them., my BIL has a horrible commute in LA, and they a respectable job of saving in their 401K. On the other hand they did treat their house like an ATM. They have owned it for 20+ years, and last I heard they owed roughly twice what the originally paid for it. Their plan was to sell the house and move to Oregon. This proceeds plus 401K and SS @62 would be a decent income. If the house was close to being paid off, I think they could execute the plan.

Instead they have a big mortgage and a dizzying collection of former cars, some nice wine, and my BIL has enjoyed many fine meals.

 

[Budman]

Not this baby boomer either! I have done the just one more year thing for the last couple of years and I am putting a stop to it. Enough is Enough! Sure, I'm missing my goal nest egg since the market has been unfriendly this past year, but I'm not going to let it change my mind. I have 95 days to go.

Now I am answering my own quote! Pretty bad. I just wanted to say this market drop has now caused me to make the decision to delay retirement for 6 months. I've lost enough cushion to make me uncomfortable and I can wait a little longer and hopefully see stabilization in our economy before taking the big step. I really hate having to say that!

 

[W2R]

Now I am answering my own quote! Pretty bad. I just wanted to say this market drop has now caused me to make the decision to delay retirement for 6 months. I've lost enough cushion to make me uncomfortable and I can wait a little longer and hopefully see stabilization in our economy before taking the big step. I really hate having to say that!

Oh no!! I am so sorry to hear that. Hopefully the 6 months will pass quickly.

I still am not planning to delay my November, 2009 retirement. But, I suppose that I always have that option if things get much worse.

It seems like the economy is getting into "uncharted territory".

 

[freebird5825]

"Baby Boomers are Delaying Retirement".
Oh, really? Not this baby boomer...
Just 411 more days, 410 tomorrow.

yeeehaaaaaaaa! it really counts when it's countable.

i'm called a tail end boomer, but i prefer the term "space-age baby". i was born the year after Sputnik went up.

 

[W2R]

yeeehaaaaaaaa! it really counts when it's countable.

i'm called a tail end boomer, but i prefer the term "space-age baby". i was born the year after Sputnik went up.

393 days, now! I'm a little older than you - - definitely a post-war baby having been born in 1948. I was in elementary school when you were born and I remember Sputnik, and the big math and science push in the schools afterwards. My teacher told us it was our responsibility to surpass the Russians.

 

[oma]

Oh no!! I am so sorry to hear that. Hopefully the 6 months will pass quickly.

I still am not planning to delay my November, 2009 retirement. But, I suppose that I always have that option if things get much worse.

It seems like the economy is getting into "uncharted territory".

I actually told a co-worker today that I'd consider working a few more years if the market continues to plummet. Blah!!! I shudder at even allowing that to enter my mind. I'm lucky to have a 57% of my salary pension to live off of and not have to dip into the portfolio at all for years if at all.

Retirement plan in approximately 8 months still a "go"-