The first set of Baby Boomers turned 65 just five years ago, and about four in 10 of Boomers are already fully retired, but those who have yet to retire are experiencing a lot of financial challenges, according to a recent study by Bankers Life Center for a Secure Retirement.
Of those surveyed, 60% of non retired middle-income Boomers are spending as much or more than their household income and 38% of retired middle-income Boomers have had to make adjustments to compensate for financial shortfall in retirement, the study found.
Middle-income Boomers who have not retired yet are not feeling very confident when it comes to their retirement finances. There are 69% of Boomers who don’t think they will have enough money to live comfortably to age 85 and nearly 88% of middle-income Boomers express at least one concern about their retirement.
Of the retirement concerns, 64% are worried about government decisions on budgets and spending, 56% are worried about declining health, 52% are concerned about not having enough money to pursue their interests and 50% are worried about lack of savings.
One reason middle-income Boomers may have these concerns could be due to the significant amount of debt they continue to carry into retirement. Of all Boomers surveyed, 81% currently have some debt and 28% say that they devote more than 40% of their monthly income to debt.
Furthermore, one-quarter of Boomers with a middle income level have a mortgage with more than 20 years left on it.
Though, half of non-retired middle-income Boomers say they plan to enter their retirement debt free, only 23% of those in retirement already are actually debt free.
See the full study here
Written by Alana Stramowski
