Generation Reinvention # 16: Boomers and the Future of Retirement Readiness and Security

On March 8, 2011

Our guest this time shares some alarming statistics in his new book, The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security.

“A survey of Boomers, ages 56 to 65 years old showed that almost half of the respondents underestimated the amount of retirement income they would need, and nearly 70 percent overestimated how much they could draw down from their retirement savings annually. Sixty percent underestimated their odds of living beyond a given average life expectancy. Meanwhile, about half of Americans file for Social Security benefits too early, often cheating themselves out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in lifetime benefits. Only half of all working adults participate in a workplace retirement savings program. And the average U.S. household has managed to save just $60,000 toward retirement.”

The author then puts these statistics into a current context, in light of worldwide recession. As he insists, “Paying for retirement has become more challenging in light of recession ravaged 401(k) s and plunging housing values. And those resources must be spread over a rising number of years.”

In this program, we’re discussing the status of Boomer retirement as it exists today, and possible scenarios for the future, especially in the context of so many who are ill-prepared for retirement.

Mark Miller is a journalist, author and editor who writes about trends in retirement and aging. He has a special focus on how the Baby Boomer generation is revising its approach to careers, money and lifestyles after age 50.

Mark edits and publishes RetirementRevised.com, featured as one of the best retirement planning sites on the web in the May 2010 issue of Money Magazine. He writes Retire Smart, a syndicated weekly newspaper column and also contributes weekly to Reuters.com. He also writes regularly for The Huffington Post and CBS Moneywatch.

He is the former editor of Crain’s Chicago Business and Sunday editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, and wrote op-ed columns for both publications on business and economic affairs.