Boomers' Catch-22: Optimistic about Retirement but Not Well-Prepared.Thrivent Financial report reveals gap between expectations and retirement readiness MINNEAPOLIS -- Over the next 20 years, 76 million baby boomers See generation X. are set to retire. And while they are generally optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op about retirement, their lack of financial preparedness suggests a possible future not necessarily as bright as they hope. In the report Baby Boomers and Retirement: A Generation's Catch-22, which is based on Thrivent Financial's nationwide survey of 2,500 baby boomers, several paradoxical themes emerged: * While boomers are generally optimistic about retirement, only 20 percent believe they will worry less about money than their parents. * Seventy-one percent of boomers cite a lack of money as the single greatest issue that might prevent them from accomplishing their envisioned retirement, yet most (59 percent) have not done any formal retirement planning Retirement financial planning refers to a collection of systems, methods, and processes which, in their aggregate, support a family unit's (client's) desire to achieve a state of financial independence, such that the need to be gainfully employed is optional. . * While 86 percent stated they would advise younger generations to start saving for retirement as soon as possible, nearly a quarter have not taken action toward saving for their own retirement. The report found 56 percent believe they will have the same or better standard of living in retirement than their parents, which is similar to findings in the 2007 Retirement Confidence Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Mathew Greenwald & Associates. That survey found Americans generally confident they will live comfortably throughout their retirement years. Retirement readiness lacking The reality of boomers' retirement preparedness is quite different. The Thrivent Financial report found only 16 percent had started the retirement planning process with an advisor. One in four (24 percent) hadn't begun saving for retirement, and one in five (19 percent) didn't start until they were at least 45 years old. While lack of money was boomers' single greatest concern at 71 percent, the second-highest concern -- health problems -- garnered only 13 percent. Similar conclusions are found in other research. The 2006 National Retirement Risk Index, developed by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College Boston College, main campus at Chestnut Hill, Mass.; coeducational; Jesuit; est. and opened 1863. Actually a university, the school's Chestnut Hill campus comprises colleges of arts and sciences and business administration, the graduate school, and schools of nursing , found almost 45 percent of working-age households are "at risk" of being unable to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living. While the challenges are formidable, a comfortable retirement is not out of reach. "Planning is key," said Pam Moret, Thrivent Financial executive vice president of marketing and products. "And the planning process will likely uncover some obvious solutions -- saving more and possibly working longer." About the Thrivent Financial Retirement Survey Data for this survey were collected by the Harris Interactive Harris Interactive (NASDAQ: HPOL) is an American market research company that specializes in public opinion research using both telephone and surveys on online panels. The company is the product of a 1996 merger between the Gordon S. Black Company and Louis Harris & Associates. Service Bureau (HISB) on behalf of Action Marketing Research. HISB was responsible for collection of the online data and demographic weighting only. Action Marketing Research was responsible for the survey design and was solely responsible for data analysis. HISB collected data September 26 to October 7, 2006 among a nationwide cross section of 2,500 U.S. adults age 45 to 64 of whom 1,213 were men and 1,287 were women. About Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (first word pronounced "THRIVE-int" — or more precisely, alluding to contractions, "thrive—n't"; IPA pronunciation: /ˈθɹaɪvɘnt/ Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a Fortune 500 financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. membership organization helping nearly 3 million members achieve their financial goals and give back to their communities. Thrivent Financial and its affiliates offer a broad range of financial products and services including life insurance, annuities, mutual funds, disability income insurance, bank products and more. As a not-for-profit organization, Thrivent Financial sponsors national outreach programs and activities that support congregations, schools, charitable organizations This article is about charitable organizations. For other uses of the word charity, see Charity. A charitable organization (also known as a charity) is an organization with charitable purposes only. and individuals in need. For more information, visit www.thrivent.com. Securities are offered through Thrivent Investment Management Inc., 625 Fourth Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55415-1665, 800-THRIVENT (800-847-4836) a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Member NASD NASD See: National Association of Securities Dealers NASD See National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). . Member SIPC (Simply Interactive PC) An earlier umbrella term from Microsoft and Intel for a PC that works like a home appliance. For example, it has a sealed case, uses external connectors for expansion and boots in just a couple of seconds. . |
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