Gen X Shows No Confidence in Retirement help from Gov’t
Posted On April 21, 2015
A survey recently released by PNC Financial Services Group Inc. offered some interesting findings about how different generations view retirement. The survey found that 51 percent of Generation Xers were saving more for their retirement since the recession, compared to 37 percent of Baby Boomers. But wait a minute, you say. Baby Boomers are starting to retire. Shouldn’t this be the time for them to ramp up to retirement? Another finding from the survey is telling, however. About two-third of the Gen-Xers surveyed believe they’ll be solely responsible for their retirement – and won’t be helped by Social Security, pensions,… Read More
Categories: Generation X, Retirement
Retirement across the generations: Outlooks and warnings
Posted On September 11, 2014
It’s generally accepted that individuals will need retirement savings of roughly 16 times their pre-retirement salary, and that social security will cover only 4 times salary at most. It is also generally understood that most individuals cannot count on employer-defined plans to fund that missing 11 times salary – but how much is very different by generation. An Aon Hewitt study reported in Benefits Quarterly predicts that Boomers will be responsible for generating roughly 6.3 times salary out of their own savings while Millennials are faced with a daunting 10.5 times salary gap. The upside, of course, is that Millennials… Read More
Categories: Financial Services, Generation Y / Millennials, Retirement, Workplace
Is health insurance still an attractive benefit?
Posted On July 17, 2014
With the recent Supreme Court decision excusing Hobby Lobby from providing certain birth control options in its employee health plan and the goal of Obamacare to make health care affordable and accessible to all Americans the employer-assisted health plan is getting tons of attention. We know costs keep rising and many employers are passing more and more of that cost on to employees. And with the rise in part-time and contract workers, employees are finding themselves increasingly ineligible for employer plans. Will all these trends converge to make employer-provided coverage a relic? I don’t see it happening right away, but… Read More
Categories: Financial Services, Generation X, Generation Y / Millennials, Retirement, Workplace
Youngest Boomers initiated into AARP
Posted On June 12, 2014
We are almost halfway through 2014, which means that in six short months every member of the Boomer generation will have turned 50. Orange is the new black, 50 is the new 40. So when the membership cards arrive in their mailboxes, these new AARP recruits will be welcomed with promotions aimed at enticing them to enjoy their later years with deals that are anything but old. New benefits include concert ticket deals with Live Nation, among other travel and entertainment-oriented options. In a recent Associated Piece, and AARP spokesperson confirmed this is a shift from as recently as just… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Retirement, Succession Planning
Gen X and retirement: A case of cognitive dissonance?
Posted On April 17, 2014
The Insured Retirement Institute recently released a study, “The Retirement Readiness of Generation X” which outlines the financial security, or lack thereof, that Generation X expects in their retirement years. The study reinforces how the Great Recession hit Gen X hard at a moment when their financial stories would typically have been on an upswing. What I found most interesting about this piece, however, was that the survey results paint the picture of a very conflicted generation – one that believes one way, but whose actions are in complete contradiction of that belief. These three statistics in particular, presented in… Read More
Categories: Blog, Financial Services, Generation X, Retirement
Baby Boomer wealth a myth?
Posted On March 20, 2014
Not exactly. But while much is written about the high concentration of affluence in the Boomer ranks, and the speculation that Gen Xers will be the first generation not expected to surpass their parents in terms of financial success, a Bloomberg Businessweek feature tells the story of wealth disparity between a Boomer worker and her Mature father. It might be easy to blame this on the recent recession, as so many Boomers lost significant value in investments or found themselves unemployed at a point in their careers where they expected relative stability. Yet, the underlying issues may be more about… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Blog, Matures, Retirement