As the Baby Boomer generation continues to age, their main concerns have shifted to health, money and retirement. The days of idly wondering where your next vacation should be and if your bonus check will be as much as you deserve are quietly passing. Today, the problems of the Baby Boomers are mainly related to the concern to maintain their declining health and have enough money to live comfortably during their later years.
Health Concerns for Boomers
As people age, they often experience health problems. Their bodies become more fragile and susceptible to disease and bacteria. In addition, many people age 50 and older report health problems that were not experienced by people in their age group a long time ago.
This problem is compounded by rising health care costs. As the Boomer generation begins to require more healthcare, the cost of that healthcare continues to rise. Health issues and your ability to cope and find the right medical support is a big concern for Baby Boomers.
Money and retirement worries for boomers
Along with rising health care costs, Baby Boomers also worry about money and retirement. During the last years of their careers before retirement, people often enjoy higher salaries and bonuses than at any other time in their careers. As a result, money is rarely a major concern.
However, many people fail to save that money. Instead, they spend it on vacations, their families, and the pursuit of a fun and fulfilling life. This can lead to a rude awakening when they retire. Because they haven’t saved much money during their career, many people find that they don’t have enough money to live comfortably during their retirement years.
When they retire, they no longer earn a salary. They no longer receive bonus checks. Instead, they are forced to live off the income that the investments they have made throughout their lives can generate. Unfortunately, many have not invested any money that could generate this income.
Other Baby Boomer problems compound this money problem. People live longer lives today. When a Baby Boomer retires, he can expect to live many years in retirement. In the past, a 65-year-old man could expect to live approximately 10 years in retirement before passing away. The financial requirements to live comfortably during these 10 years were manageable for most people.
Today, financial planners use a life expectancy of 90 to 95 years. That is, when a person retires at age 65, he can expect to live up to 30 years in retirement. With declining health, rising health care costs, and a lack of savings to build a fixed income, the financial requirements of living 30 years in retirement are out of reach for many people.
These concerns about health, money, and retirement will grow as more of the baby boomers retire. Some will choose to work part-time to stay active, healthy, and generate additional income. Others will require the help of family and friends. Still others may need more help than is available to them. As Baby Boomer issues begin to emerge, Boomers will experience the issues that have been quietly gaining momentum for years, their concerns about health, money, and retirement continuing to grow.