With over 78.2 million Baby Boomers, this aging population may
soon find itself in dire straits. According to Scottrade’s 2007 American
Retirement Study:
* 65 percent believe they have not saved enough for retirement
* 29 percent have saved less than $25,000 for retirement
* 23 percent of Boomers say they will never be able to retire and not need to
earn an income
* 41 percent will have to keep working during retirement
“There’s a disparity here in that while most Boomers
feel very unprepared financially for retirement, this demographic remains keenly
aware of the problem but is not addressing it properly,” said Chris X.
Moloney, Scottrade’s chief marketing officer. “This may be a case
of doing too little, too late. Three in ten have saved under $25,000, which
is concerning.”
According to the study, the biggest financial concern among
Boomers (62 percent) was having enough money for retirement. Boomers also expressed
other general financial concerns, including:
* Having enough money to cover healthcare related costs (50
percent)
* Paying for unexpected, major expenses (50 percent)
* Protecting family in case of premature death/disability (43 percent)
* Getting a good return on investment (44 percent)
* Protecting wealth (38 percent)
* Having too much debt (36 percent)
* Caring for elderly parents/relatives (35 percent)
With 51 percent of Boomers relying on 401(k) plans to provide
the necessary resources in retirement, 37 percent also have IRAs, SEPs or similar
retirement plans, according to Scottrade.
“It is never too late to increase the rate at which you
are saving for retirement,” Moloney said. “401(k)s and IRAs are
an easy way to plan for retirement, even if you are doing so later in life.”
The 2007 American Retirement Study by Scottrade polled 1,000
Americans 18 years of age or older using Synovate’s national online research
tool, eNation®, in early February 2007 to gauge Americans’ attitudes
and behavioral information about retirement and retirement planning. The sample
was balanced to be representative of the general population based upon region,
gender, age and household income data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The margin
of error was +/- 3 percent.
(1) While there are many different age groupings often classified
as “Baby Boomers,” this study represents the core segment of ages
45 to 64 as “Baby Boomers.”
About Scottrade
Scottrade is a leader in branch-supported online investing.
The firm serves individual investors who are comfortable making their own investment
decisions. Scottrade is unique in the industry because it boasts very low commission
rates while offering easily accessible, local branch office support of online
trading in 294 branch office locations nationwide. Scottrade.com is the online
trading site of Scottrade and offers customers the convenience of placing many
orders online for just $7 per trade. In addition to its online capabilities,
Scottrade staffs each branch location with a licensed branch manager plus additional
brokers and assistants. For more, visit www.scottrade.com.
About The 2007 American Retirement Study by Scottrade
The 2007 American Retirement Study by Scottrade polled 1,000
Americans 18 years of age or older using Synovate’s national online research
tool, eNation®, in early February 2007 to gauge Americans’ attitudes
and behavioral information about retirement and retirement planning. The sample
was balanced to be representative of the general population based upon region,
gender, age and household income data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The margin
of error was +/- 3 percent. The survey asked questions about a wide range of
retirement topics, such as the respondents’ feelings toward Social Security
and the amount of money people feel they need for retirement.
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