I remember when I first realized people retire. First of all, they were REALLY OLD. Some of them did a lot of travelling, and
many just stayed home and did hobbies or socialized with their friends and
family. My father retired when he was 55
years old, and I thought that was the norm, and it became my goal to retire at
55. My employer for much of my career
promised a full retirement at age 55 if you had enough service years and had
started young enough, which I had done.
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| My dad growing up in Santa Cruz, CA |
When I was 45 years old, I realized there was no way I could
work there for another 10 years. The old
ways of staying with one company had gone, and there were so many opportunities
that seemed more appealing to satisfy my need to help, along with my leadership
and financial skills. I left, and never
looked back. Fortunately, I had hired a financial planner as soon as I earned
my MBA, and relied on her expertise to make the best investment decisions to
meet our risk tolerance and future goals.
My parents taught me how to work hard, spend less than you save, enjoy
life (especially family and travel), and invest in Real Estate and traditional
investments.
I had to realize that when I left behind that corporate job
with a “real” pension, I accepted responsibility for my financial future. I
observed that most people don’t retire until they are 63 years old. I didn’t know I was going to have to work
that long! I started noticing
commercials about your “number.” Why
were those numbers so big? They said I’d
probably spend only 80% of my income in retirement; stop commuting, dry
cleaning, business lunches.
As I have been studying retirement planning for over 10
years now, I see a much different scenario and I don’t think I was the only one
who had bought into our father’s retirement.
Employers started reducing retirement benefits, and of course they would
not tell anyone that they handed over the responsibility to employees. A lot of people really thought Social Security
would provide enough on top of the retirement pension. The government approved
401K and Roth IRAs, and we liked the potential tax savings, but still didn’t
see the whole picture.
According to a study by Chris Hogan, “Stress and Anxiety
Surrounding Retirement”, half of
Baby Boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964, have less than $10,000 saved
for retirement. We are in a bad place
with retirement near or already here.
Only 9% of middle income employees save at least 15% towards their
retirement. We don’t have any plans, we’re
not saving. When someone mentions Retirement, we experience anxiety. We lose sleep. We don’t know what to do.
While some families and cultures have several generations in
one home, do you want that to be the only
option? Probably not. As embarrassing as it is, we need our Baby
Boomers to feel comfortable enough to get some help to plan their
retirement. Whether it be their
employer, Money Coach, investment professional, banker, or some trusted professional to provide guidance. It’s time to get in gear, learn your options,
and start setting some money aside.
There are lots of us out there to help – the time is NOW to do
something. Make an appointment
today. Write down some goals and
questions. Listen to the suggestions,
and pick at least one to start with right now.
Move retirement to a high priority and make it your second job to make
solid plans.
Please remember, there are a lot of us out there to help you
understand more about retirement, and there’s no need to be mortified when
others see your situation. You’re not
alone. When you get your retirement plan
rolling, help someone else you know do the same. Let’s share a prosperous future with all of
our fellow Baby Boomers.
This is the beginning of my series of blogs on
retirement. Today’s Baby Boomers are my
first priority because time is of the essence to do something quickly. You can find out more about me on my website http://www.moneywiseadvisors.com
