Beatniks and Baby Boomers

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Retiring not in their picture

Baby boomers facing greater expenses with scant health benefits

Associated Press
Originally published June 12, 2007

WASHINGTON // As the baby boomers begin to ease into their 60s, most expect to delay retirement longer than their parents or grandparents.

That's good, because many can't afford to stop working anytime soon.


Two new reports port
r
ay aging boomers as better educated, with higher incomes and longer life expectancies than the generations that preceded them. They also have fewer children and are less likely to be married, leaving them with fewer options if they need help in their old age.
"That one child they had w
ill be very valuable," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

Frey is releasing a report today that says higher rates of divorce and separation could result in greater financial hardship for aging baby boomers. In 1980, about two-thirds of Americans age 55 to 64 lived in married-couple households. That percentage fell to less than 58 percent in 2005.

Americans had been retiring at ever-younger ages since the growth of private pensions and Social Security began more than 50 years ago. However, the retirement trend appears to be reversing.

In 1950, nearly half of men 65 and older were still in the labor force, according to the Census Bureau. That percentage bottomed out in the 1980s at less than 16 percent. It has since edged up to about 19 percent, and experts believe it will increase even more as the oldest baby boomers reach 65.

Women work in much larger numbers earlier in life, but among those 65 and older, their participation in the labor force has remained steady at about 10 percent since 1950.

There are about 78 million baby boomers, those born from 1946 to 1964. The oldest will turn 62 next year, the age at which they become eligible for Social Security benefits.

Some will continue working by choice - a government survey shows that most U.S. workers nearing retirement age want to gradually reduce their workload rather than abruptly stop.

Others will have to stay on the job as fewer companies offer health insurance to retirees and an alarming number of private pensions fail.

William Zinke had plenty of resources to retire when he reached his early 60s. He didn't want to stop working but did want to get away from the hectic pace of New York, where he ran a human resources firm. So Zinke moved his firm to Boulder, Colo., where the pace is more relaxed. Seventeen years later, at age 80, he continues to put in full workdays.

"I've had a very good life," Zinke said. "I'm proud of what I've accomplished, but I'm not done."

Zinke said he is fortunate to own his business and to be able to set his work schedule. He has formed a nonprofit organization, the Center for Productive Longevity, that is working to encourage other employers to help older workers with flexible schedules and other accommodations.

"We need to change the way we think about retirement," Zinke said.

There are more than 37 million Americans 65 and older, a number that is expected to nearly double by 2030, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

"I think there will be significant accommodations and incentives to get people to stay and work longer, and not lose that human capital," said Richard Suzman of the National Institute on Aging, a government research agency.

The agency is releasing a compilation of data today from the national Health and Retirement Study, a continuing survey of older people by researchers at the University of Michigan.

The data paint a picture of baby boomers facing longer, more active lives, coupled with rising costs for health care and other services.

"People are living longer, and the extra years of life, which I think have been one of the crowning achievements of the last century, have to be financed somehow," Suzman said.

 
Nobody home

Lately I've started to telemarket my senior market lists during the day. Those turning 65 and under 70, are still working! Not all, obviously not the disabled, but many are working part-time or full-time. You won't reach them except in the evening or weekends, unless they have call forwarding to their cell phone. (got that too) I think it is as the above article stated....they need the money, and they are under-funded. Add to that that unless they're gov't employees, or successful business people....they don't have big fat pensions.

So I'm thinking, why not go B2B and canvass strictly for the older age employee, and maybe the employer would pay his med supp or MA premium? Has anyone tried this?
 
This is where a life settlement comes in handy.

By the senior selling their policy, they can have that extra cash to spend, reinvest for LTC, or buy a new policy with a much smaller premium.

Also by selling the policy, they no longer have the burden of the premium.
 
Life settlements not a panacea

Not all life policies are large enough to cover LTC. Oh please. The average blue collar, and avg pay check white collar, rarely has policies above 100K, and very little cash value. Their term insurance already fell off. Also, the co's not requiring poor health, offer a poor % of the face amount. So a 100k would garner maybe 30-40% or 30-40K. And that is if he is on high end of life expectancy..
 
You're right, they aren't. Any policy under 100k isnt large enough to do a LS, but personally I'm averaging 4 to 5 times the cash surrender value or 40-60% face...as long as the le is 2years+
 
There are many options out there, but finding the kind of policy that will yield an amount that will be significant is the exception to the rule, at least that is what I have found.

Most of the people that I talk to are not high wealth clients, and if they are, they have a financial planner that you just set the stage for.
 
NO , Life settlement, I do not have a problem with you or life settlements. I know little about either. I was just stating that it was funny that 99% of your posts say that LS would be a great fit....or something to that effect.
 
I joined this board so that I could learn more about insurance in general. My expertise is in life settlements and senior life policies. Because of this most of my posts are about LS.

Don't you think its your job as a "senior advisor" to educate yourself on all aspects of senior insurance? Do you not feel a sense of responsibility to continue learning about new products for your clients? They come to you for advise, not to hear the same thing over and over again.
 
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