Baby Boomers are said to have been born between the years 1946 and 1964 which means they’re now between the ages of 51-70. There’s good news for this entire gang of baby boomers as you’re probably going to live longer and not only that you will probably also lead a better life than your grandparents and your great-grandparents. In other words, you need to arm yourself to face issues and decisions which your grandparents and parents never faced before. Did you save enough to finance yourself and your spouse during your retired life? Were you someone who has been saving throughout his life both in his workplace retirement fund and emergency fund? Or are you preparing yourself for financial doom once you’re retired?
Baby boomers are the unusually large generation that is soon to enter into their retirement and reinvent what it actually means to be retired. The trend of retirement is changing here in America and if you want to see the drastic changes of the present generation than what they saw before, here are some retirement trends to check out in 2017.
Higher life expectancy rate:
All those men who are going to turn 65 in 2030 can definitely predict 6 years of more life expectancy rate than those who turned 65 in 1970, as per the Urban Institute research of Social Security Administration information. At the same time, the life expectancy rate among women at the age of 65 increased by 4 years throughout the same period of time. Previously, there was enough gap between 2 genders for longevity but now this gap is gradually shrinking. But something that needs to be understood is that a longer life expectancy rate will definitely mean that you have to save even more for your retirement years since you may live for a long time now.
Improved health conditions: Another new trend that has been noticed is that majority of the people are not only living longer but are also enjoying perfect health conditions during their lifetime. There has been a steep fall in the proportion of adults who reported poor health after aging and this clearly implies that health conditions have improved among Americans. With better health, you can also curb your out-of-pocket medical expenses and you may even see a rise in income as you can still keep on working even after reaching old age. However, one disease you should protect yourself from is diabetes as this is eating up the majority of Americans.
Retirement planning, the DIY way: The majority of the baby boomers will rely heavily on the savings which they have racked on their workplace funds like 401(k) or Roth IRAs rather than their traditional pension plan. The conventional pension plans constitute over 30% of adults who were born in the 1940s but these plans are expected to cover only 10% of the adults who were born in the 1980s. Therefore it seems that 401(k) accounts are pretty more generous and huge and with the perfect kind of nest egg and by taking the right steps to adjust your investment portfolio, you can save a considerably large amount. Avoid spending, invest wisely and reduce fees as much as possible.
Therefore, if you’re keen enough on spending a hazard-free retired life, you need to be careful about the ongoing trends in the industry. In case you’re a baby boomer, make sure you follow the trends mentioned above and accordingly adjust your finances so that you don’t make a wrong financial decision in the long run.
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