Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Retirement is Not What it Used to Be

Retirement used to be such a simple concept. It required that you work steadily for 40 or 45 years and then you retired at the age of 65. The U.S. economy would reward you for a life of work by supplementing your savings in old age with a Social Security pension. Pretty simple, huh?

All you had to do was hold down a job, and one day you’d find yourself retired to a life of relative comfort. It’s simply not that way anymore. Just ask the members of the baby boom generation that grew up with this understanding. There are 77 million members of the generation born between 1946 and 1964. The oldest of the boomers turn 65 this year and retirement for most of them is anything but a comfort.

A survey done by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants shows that retirement plans have been disrupted by the nation’s economic struggles over the past three years. The survey found that a large chunk of the baby boomer generation–which represents 37 percent of all people 16 or older–has been forced to reevaluate their futures.

Sponsored
Sponsored

More than 85 percent of boomers reported in the survey that they expect to work longer than anticipated because of a lingering recession and the effect it has had on retirement savings and job stability.

Nearly a third (32.3 percent) say they now intend to work 1 to 3 years longer than they expected, while 39.7 percent think they will now work another 4 to 6 years longer. A smaller number (9.8 percent) expect to work 7 to 10 years more than anticipated and 3.7 percent say they will have to work more than 10 years longer.

“Boomers have been scarred by the economic turmoil of the past few years and face complex challenges going forward,” said Clark M. Blackman of the institute.

Blackman added that boomers may be more optimistic about stock markets today than they were a year ago, but uncertainties caused by the economic downturn have cast a dark cloud over retirement plans. Some boomers have lost their jobs during the current recession, which means they will have to work longer to recover that lost income, or they may be working longer to help their children or grandchildren who have also been jostled by the job market.

A corresponding decline in home values and rising education costs also play a factor in working longer, he said. And, the fallout from the economic downturn may eventually prove to be even worse than the survey revealed. The survey mentioned above found that the accountants surveyed typically have $500,000 to $5 million in assets. Those are mainly middle- and upper class families who have been able to set aside significant retirement savings.

But what does that say for millions of Americans who have modest or no retirement savings? The Social Security Administration already is ratcheting up qualifying ages for younger workers. That means that an age-65 retirement will become increasingly rare in the years ahead.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

How to make a hit Christmas song

Feeling is key, but money helps too
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Jazz jam at a private party

A couple of accidental crashes at California English

Retirement used to be such a simple concept. It required that you work steadily for 40 or 45 years and then you retired at the age of 65. The U.S. economy would reward you for a life of work by supplementing your savings in old age with a Social Security pension. Pretty simple, huh?

All you had to do was hold down a job, and one day you’d find yourself retired to a life of relative comfort. It’s simply not that way anymore. Just ask the members of the baby boom generation that grew up with this understanding. There are 77 million members of the generation born between 1946 and 1964. The oldest of the boomers turn 65 this year and retirement for most of them is anything but a comfort.

A survey done by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants shows that retirement plans have been disrupted by the nation’s economic struggles over the past three years. The survey found that a large chunk of the baby boomer generation–which represents 37 percent of all people 16 or older–has been forced to reevaluate their futures.

Sponsored
Sponsored

More than 85 percent of boomers reported in the survey that they expect to work longer than anticipated because of a lingering recession and the effect it has had on retirement savings and job stability.

Nearly a third (32.3 percent) say they now intend to work 1 to 3 years longer than they expected, while 39.7 percent think they will now work another 4 to 6 years longer. A smaller number (9.8 percent) expect to work 7 to 10 years more than anticipated and 3.7 percent say they will have to work more than 10 years longer.

“Boomers have been scarred by the economic turmoil of the past few years and face complex challenges going forward,” said Clark M. Blackman of the institute.

Blackman added that boomers may be more optimistic about stock markets today than they were a year ago, but uncertainties caused by the economic downturn have cast a dark cloud over retirement plans. Some boomers have lost their jobs during the current recession, which means they will have to work longer to recover that lost income, or they may be working longer to help their children or grandchildren who have also been jostled by the job market.

A corresponding decline in home values and rising education costs also play a factor in working longer, he said. And, the fallout from the economic downturn may eventually prove to be even worse than the survey revealed. The survey mentioned above found that the accountants surveyed typically have $500,000 to $5 million in assets. Those are mainly middle- and upper class families who have been able to set aside significant retirement savings.

But what does that say for millions of Americans who have modest or no retirement savings? The Social Security Administration already is ratcheting up qualifying ages for younger workers. That means that an age-65 retirement will become increasingly rare in the years ahead.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Bob Long played piano for Tina Turner and Ray Charles

And he got the crowd shaking at InZane Brewery
Next Article

Will Trump’s Baja resort be built after all?

Long-stalled development sparks art exhibit, gets new life
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader