Procrastinating About Retirement

Posted by: Gene M. | Dec 16,2007


Yes, it’s been Me week on the Baby Boomer blog.  I’ve written about how Boomers are more materialistic, abandoning some of the higher ideals of the sixties, when most Boomers came of age.  In addition, to being more money-obsessed, Boomers may also not be such great planners.  Consider the Baby Boomer like the subprime mortgage market: a lot of short-term profits without regard for long-term consequences.  Yep, just as the subprime mortgage market fails, Boomers find that their having financial difficulty of their own.  

It’s been estimated that the average retirement savings for Baby Boomers is around $25,000.  This is a paltry number.  Some may feel pretty good about having $25,000 liquid funds in the bank.  It is a fair amount of money, just not for retirement.  Many people think they’re going to be able to stretch that money with Social Security.  This is about the same thing as thinking that you’re going to be living primarily on Social Security, which is pretty slim living, if not downright impossible for some people.  Even adding pension to that may result in the kind of salary you were making at your first job out of college.  

Boomers may be young at heart, but not so much that they want to rough it like they did in their twenties.  Boomers have become accustomed to a certain quality of life.  So while, their youthfulness of spirit may led them to not think of themselves as ever turning old and gray, they still want to live in the kind of luxury they’ve become accustomed to as older adults.  As a result, many Boomers are now panicking, as they are suddenly thinking about retirement as being right around the corner.  

What can I say if this is your problem.  Basically, don’t procrastinate any further.  If it means suddenly living a leaner life than so be it, if it means increasing savings, investments, and debt payment.   It’s time to face up to the fact that you’re getting old and look at how you’re going to afford your quality of life for the long term.  Click here and here for calculators that can help you can started.   

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