Data & Research April 11, 2007

Boomers Not Confident About Standard of Living in Retirement

Nearly one-third (31%) of baby boomers say they will have to cut back on their current lifestyle in retirement and 42% believe they will not have enough money to do the things they want to do when they retire.
Reported by
Baby boomers are not optimistic about their looming retirement years, according to the 2007 American Retirement Study by investment firm Scottrade. Only half (51%) of boomers have some savings in 401(k)s but 37% also have individual retirement accounts (IRAs), a simplified employee pension plan (SEP) or similar retirement plans.
Nearly 30% of baby boomers have saved less than $25,000 for their retirement and 23% say they will never be able to retire and not need to earn an income.
The greatest financial concern among baby boomer respondents was having enough money for retirement, with 62% saying that was their biggest fear. Other concerns were: having enough money to cover health care costs (50%); unexpected expenses (50%); protecting family in case of premature death/disability (43%); getting good investment returns (44%); protecting wealth (38%); having too much debt (36%); and caring for elderly parents/relatives (35%)
“There’s a disparity here in that while most Boomers feel very unprepared financially for retirement, this demographic remains keenly aware of the problem but is not addressing it properly,’ said Chris X. Moloney, Scottrade’s chief marketing officer, in a press release about the survey. “This may be a case of doing too little, too late. Three in ten have saved under $25,000, which is concerning.’

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