Two Stories of Retirement

This long article from Bloomberg.com tells the story of a father a daughter. The father is in his 80s and living well off his pension and savings. His daughter is 61 and barely making it financially. The story is sad but tells the tale of how retirement can turn out very differently based on timing (father was born at an advantageous time), luck (good and bad), and a few decisions that didn’t turn out well. It doesn’t provide too many lessons for those in or hear retirement, but it is something younger people could benefit from reading.

While plenty of baby boomers, born from 1946 to 1964, have become affluent and many elderly around the U.S. face financial hardship, the wealth disparity of this father and daughter is emblematic of a broad shift occurring around the country. A rising tide of graying baby boomers is less secure financially and has a lower standard of living than their aged parents.

The median net worth for U.S. households headed by boomers aged 55 to 64 was almost 8 percent lower, at $143,964, than those 75 and older in 2011, according to Census Bureau data. Boomers lost more than other groups in the stock market and housing bust of 2008, and many also lost their jobs in the aftermath at a critical point in their productive years.