Only two in 10 baby boomers plan to retire by 65, according to a survey commissioned by Bankers Life Center for a Secure Retirement.
Sixty-five, of course, used to mean something special: the time at which people left the workplace behind to pursue their avocations, kick back and perhaps enjoy life. Not any more — at least not for middle-income boomers, those with an annual household income between $25,000 and $100,000.
Although 94 percent of boomers do expect to retire someday, 43 percent expect that day to come at some point after 65, the survey said.
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Money, not surprisingly, is at the heart of that. Only a little over a third (38 percent) feel very or extremely confident about their retirement savings, while 62 percent are doubtful, the survey found. A quarter say they're not too confident or not at all confident.
The great dividing line for retirement confidence seems to be set at half-a-million dollars in investable assets. Among those with $500,000-$1 million set aside, 66 percent are very confident they'll make that amount last through retirement. Not surprisingly, 86 percent of those with even more feel that way.
But middle-income boomers are generally not among their number. Only 13 percent of boomers could say they had $500,000 or more saved up, while more than half (54 percent) didn't break the $100,000 threshold and 34 percent didn't even make it all the way to $25,000. Not a pretty picture.
While many boomers have a fair amount of money tied up in their homes — the median home equity value reported by survey participants was $100,000-$250,000 — that doesn't really help much, since unless you're the witch in "Hansel and Gretel," you can't eat your house.
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