Baby boomers that are yet to retire are facing a lot of challenges. Most of these retirement challenges are due to financial constraints. They are also dealing with the problem of debts. All these facts were discovered in a recent study that surveyed non retired baby boomers with middle income.
The Study on Retirement Challenges
The study was conducted by Bankers Life Center for a Secure Retirement recently and it involved asking a lot of questions from people who are yet to retire and fall into the category of middle income boomers. It did not include the first set of baby boomers who retired about 5 years back. Around 4 of 10 baby boomers who are fully retired were not surveyed.
The Financial Challenges
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When the middle income baby boomers were asked about their spending about 60 percent of them replied that they are spending more than their household income. About 38 percent of the middle income baby boomers admitted that they had to make adjustments to ensure that they compensate for financial shortfall during retirement.
Retirement Finances
The income baby boomers are also not sure about their retirement finances. About 69 percent of the middle income baby boomers accept that they won’t have enough money to live comfortably after they cross the age of 85 years. Around 88 percent middle income baby boomers also expressed one or more than one concern with regard to their retirement.
The concerns are varied. About 64 percent of middle income baby boomers are worried about the decisions taken by the government with regard to budget and spending. Around 56 percent of middle income baby boomers are worried about their own declining health. About 54 percent middle income baby boomers are worried that they won’t have money to pursue their interests in retirement while 50 percent are worried about the lack of savings.
The Persistent Debt
About 81% of all the boomers who were surveyed stated that they have some form of debt. About 28% admitted that they put more than 40 percent of their income to get rid of the debt. Also, about a quarter of middle income baby boomers have a mortgage that has over 20 years left on it.
About half the middle income baby boomers plan to get rid of the debt before they retire only 23 percent of boomers who are retired are really debt free. So it’s probable that many middle income baby boomers won’t overcome the debt related retirement challenges before retirement.
