Everybody envisions the golden years as a time to relax away from the stresses and strains of working life, but for for many baby boomers it may be a far different picture.
The majority of boomers' health is better than is their financial health. Many might be falsely assuming they will be fit enough to work past age 65. Plus, there is always the looming spectre of long term care.
At 56, Lana Linder knows her savings aren't enough to enable her to retire in her 60s. So she is counting on being strong enough to keep on working past retirement age, and now is the time for her to do her long term care insurance planning. Now, Linder is a very fit woman. A former professional dancer, she discovered weight training at the age 50, and she regularly goes to a gym to build muscle.
"I got pretty serious about it when I was 50, and I didn't like what I saw in the mirror," the freelance filmmaker said. "Once I met a personal trainer who made a custom program for me, I began to see dramatic improvements in my body."
In a perfect world, Linder would also see dramatic improvements in her savings. But as a freelancer who has always worked in the arts - first theatre, then dance and now film - financial planning wasn't always her priority. At 57, she knows her savings portfolio isn't healthy enough to enable her to retire in her mid-60s.
"I wouldn't consider retiring even if I had the money to do so," she said. "I love what I do, and I hope to be able to do it forever."•
But she'd also like not to worry about her retirement finances.
Linder falls into the same category as 67 per cent of working respondents who told a poll for Investor Group that their health is better than their finances. They may be fit now, but this segment of the population is in no condition to retire, according to the survey. And many said they'd have to rely on good health to allow them to work past retirement age.
The Investor Group poll is typical of the kind of marketing being done by financial services companies world wide. Surveys suggest boomers are financially unprepared for retirement, and advertising designed to alarm them into stashing cash is a far cry from advertising of the 1980s, which depicted fit 50-somethings frolicking on tropical beaches in retirement.
Nowadays, the message is more about whether aging boomers are financially prepared for retirement at all, or if they will be forced to spend those twilight years flipping burgers and working as store greeters.
In another survey, 37 per cent of respondents predicted they will not be able to enjoy their current standard of living in 10 years. The question is, "Can you afford to go to the movies in 2017?"
What is most alarming is the baby boomers' lack of planning for is long term care, and this is planning that must be initiated early enough to take advantage of good health and lower insurance rates.
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