As
baby boomers face retirement in the coming years, most are not financially
prepared to live the life they envision. In fact, many plan to keep working as
long as possible to keep earning money. Others plan to work part-time jobs to
keep some income coming in. US Media Studios reviews retirement savings plans for
boomers.
A
recent survey from TransamericaCenter for Retirement Studies (PDF) found that two-thirds of the baby boomers
they interviewed plan to keep working past age 65 or don’t plan to retire at
all. This is a common plan among workers age 50 and up. With fluctuating pay
rates, periods of lengthy unemployment, poor job opportunities, and illness, it
is increasingly more difficult to save for the non-working years. The little
most people can put away in a retirement plan barely adds up at the end of the
year.
More than one-third or 39 percent of those surveyed
said they expect to earn income by working into and during retirement. Part-time
and contract work are two employment types that help retirees make ends meet or
give them a little extra padding in the wallet. But many people expect to earn
the same salary in retirement as they do when working full-time, even though
this is not realistic.
US Media Studios finds it alarming that
one-third or 35% haven’t made a retirement plan, and only 14% have a written
plan. As most people know, a household budget keeps expenses in line. It makes
sense then to have a written retirement plan.
Workers in their 50s might want to reduce
living expenses, have automatic withdraws from payroll checks to deposit into
retirement accounts, and work with a financial professional to hammer out
retirement plans. Retirement comes sooner than most of us expect.
