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SALT LAKE CITY — There's a troubling trend among baby boomers. A recent AARP article says 50 percent of them feel they will never be able to retire.
Surveyors from AARP asked more than 1,300 people over the age of 50 about their concerns regarding things like inflation, taxes, affordability of health care, financial security during retirement, and the opportunity to eventually retire. They added these metrics to create what they call their "Anxiety Index."
They found that baby boomers are definitely feeling anxious.
- 72% of non-retired boomers believe they will probably be forced to delay retirement
- 50% have little confidence that they will ever be able to retire
- 65% have little confidence that they will have the means to live comfortably in retirement
- 59% fear that the negative effects of the economic downturn on their retirement savings will force them to rely more heavily on Social Security and Medicare
Non-retired people between the ages of 50 and 64 scored a 70 on the anxiety index, which is a lot higher than the 46 scored by people over the age of 65.
AAA Fair Credit Foundation President Preston Cochrane said, "Ever since the economic crisis hit full-swing, we're definitely seeing an increase in older adults who primarily have depleted their savings to pay down debt and are clinging to their jobs just to get by."
Cochrane says some boomers lost their 401ks when the stock market had trouble. Others own homes which have decreased in value. Then you have the boomers who are concerned they won't be able to keep up with rising gas and food prices. Whatever happened to them individually, a lot of them have given up on the idea of life after work.
"People just don't think that they're ever going to retire, so, what's the use in even saving money?" he said. Plus, Cochrane says too many don't want to invest in things like real estate or the stock market anymore.
"They have a sour taste in their mouth with investing altogether," he said. "Maybe they lost a lot of money in the stock. Maybe their 401k took a pretty deep dive. So, any sort of mention of the word ‘investment,' to them, it may throw up a red flag."
Obviously, there is always hope.
–Preston Cochrane
But, Cochrane says it's dangerous for people, no matter what age, to give up on the idea of saving.
"Obviously, there is always hope. In many cases, it's changing your lifestyle. It may require selling certain assets that you have," he said.
For people who do want to invest in stocks or real estate again, Cochrane says it's important to do as much research as possible. Sadly, he says there's no particular investment or "magic bullet" that will erase all of the losses these boomers experienced.
