We’ve said it before on The Hub, and we’ll say it again; boomers are reluctant to retire. The whole concept of Boomerswork.com is based off the fact that many boomers will push back their retirement plans as long as possible. Boomers are workers and don’t like to envision themselves not working. Perhaps that’s why so many boomers aren’t prepared for retirement. You may not like to think about it, but retirement is not something that you can stroll into easily. Too many make assumptions about what their retirement will look like without planning for it. It’s time for a reality check.
CBS News took a look at a recent study done by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, which sought to compare the assumptions of retirement as seen by the working 50-plus group (4,000 participants) and the realities of retirement as experienced by a group of recent retirees (2,000 participants). The findings of the working boomers are as such:
- 67% plan to keep working past the age of 65 or have no plans to retire at all.
- 39% expect to earn income while retired.
- Average retirement savings were $135,000
- 15% strongly agree that they’ve saved a large enough sum, while 33% somewhat agree.
- 35% haven’t made a retirement plan.
Compare that with the findings of the recent retirees:
- 61% retired before the age of 65.
- 6% are earning an income from working.
- The average savings are $131,000.
- 16% feel they’ve saved eough.
- 46% haven’t made a retirement plan.
As you can clearly see, there’s a disparity between what boomers expect from retirement and what the reality is, specifically in terms of working. Too many boomers are under the assumption that their current jobs will still be there for them or that they will be able to transition to part-time work. While Boomerswork.com offers help with that transition, too few are making the plans to find those opportunities.
Where the two participant groups line up are in terms of their savings. But this suggests a pretty serious obstacle for many retirees. The survey indicates that 41% of boomers anticipate roughly a 30-year retirement. The average savings, however, will not support that. And as we’ve seen, continued income is far from a guarantee.
Perhaps most telling of all are the findings on what recent retirees wish they had done more to prepare themselves:
- 76% wish they had saved more.
- 68% wish they had learned more about retirement saving and investing before retiring.
- 53% would have liked to have received more information and advice from their employers about retirement. planning.
- 41% would have sought advice from experts and professionals on retirement savings.
Countless time on this site, we’ve reiterated the importance of retirement planning. Hopefully if nothing else convinced you, these facts will have done the job. Don’t make assumptions about how things will go for you. Plan, be prepared, and seek help. You may not enjoy thinking about retirement, but you’ll enjoy retirement a lot less if you don’t start thinking of it.