Retirement is just around the corner for many baby boomers, but most are not feeling very confident about their retirement preparedness according to a Bankers Life Center for Secure Retirement research report. According to the report, less than one-third (31%) of middle-income boomers feel prepared for retirement and lower-income boomers feel even less prepared. So what is driving this lack of preparedness and uneasiness? According to Scott Goldberg, President of Bankers Life, the late 2000s financial crisis acted as a serious wake-up call for boomers. He stated that many “middle-income boomers had lofty expectations of what retirement would be like before the crash, and post-crisis people have a more grounded view of what retirement will look like and cost.”

Without a doubt, the 2008 crash has shaped the economic and financial views of multiple generations. Some emotional and behavioral changes have not (and perhaps should not) return to pre-crash norms. Although the financial markets have recovered from the crisis, the recovery has been uneven. Underlying the uneven recovery is that roughly half of Americans own no investments in stocks. Furthermore, the top 10 percent of Americans owns 84% of all stocks. This concentration of ownership is up from 77% in 2001. The ownership of the vast majority of equity returns in the hands of a small percentage of Americans in part explains why so many boomers are not feeling the recovery.

The reality is that most American retirees will be reliant on Social Security and Medicare. According to another research finding by the Center for Secure Retirement, only 1 in 10 retired baby boomers are primarily living off investment income, instead mostly relying on Social Security and pensions for their income. For most Americans, Social Security is the primary source of retirement income. As such, making a smart and well informed decision about when to claim Social Security is crucial for a retiree’s financial stability. According to Mr. Goldberg, far too many people retiree too early and more should consider phasing into retirement. By taking a phased-retirement approach, it is easier to delay Social Security claiming as your work continues to provide income.

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