The Retirement Crisis and Course Corrections

Many surveys and reports indicate that a high percentage of Baby Boomers aren’t financially prepared for retirement. This leads to discussions of how bad things will be for these future retirees. This survey has a different result. It found, as the others have, that a low percentage of Baby Boomers have their retirement finances in order. But it also found that the survey participants recognize this and know what they need to do. The participants say they plan to make “course corrections” to ensure they are financially prepared for retirement.

For the eighth and final installment in their series on life priorities and retirement, the firms surveyed 4,854 Americans age 25 and older, focusing on pre-retirees age 50+. They found that only 27 percent of the pre-retirees believe they’ll be financially prepared for a retirement lasting 10 years; 16 percent will for 20 years and just 10 percent say they’re on track for a 30-year retirement. But, they say, they’re willing to make a boatload of “course corrections” in all corners of their lives — finances, work, family, health, leisure and charity — to compensate.