Perspectives on Retirement: The Boomers

As I have said many times we (Boomers) are writing new retirement rules. Sixty-six percent plan to or already are working past age 65 or do not plan to retire at all – and many expect to continue working in retirement, at least on a part-time basis. Plus, Boomers are paving the way for future generations by challenging employers to accommodate a flexible transition into retirement.

Most of us who plan to continue working say it’s because we need the income or in the US they need the health benefits provided by their employer. However, Baby Boomers’ vision of a flexible transition into retirement may prove difficult. Many employers do not yet have business practices in place to accommodate our need for a flexible transition into retirement.

We are confident (87% believe) that Social Security will be a source of our retirement income and one in three (34 percent) expects it to be their primary source of income. One-third (33 percent) are expecting income from a traditional pension plan, while most (78 percent) from 401(k)s, 403(b)s, IRAs and other savings and investments.

The current household savings in all retirement accounts among Baby Boomer workers is $147,000 (estimated median). It should be noted that many Baby Boomers were already mid-career when 401(k) plans were first introduced. Therefore, they have not had a full 40-year time horizon to save in 401(k) plans.

Working longer and fully retiring at an older age is a common-sense solution for mitigating retirement savings shortfalls. Baby Boomers’ vision can only be achieved if they are proactive about staying employable and if employment opportunities are available to them. A majority of Boomers says they are staying healthy (67 percent), while 56 percent are performing well at their current job and 40 percent are keeping job skills up to date.

As part of our retirement planning, Boomers should, the report by TransAmerica suggests, create a Plan B if retirement happens unexpectedly due to job loss, health issues, or other intervening circumstances. Only 25 percent of Baby Boomer workers have a backup plan for retirement income if forced into retirement sooner than expected.