Tag: Baby Boomers.

9 Ways to Strengthen Social Security

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/info-2022/benefits-current-status-future-stability.html

Graphic:

Excerpt:

How did we get here? ​​As long predicted, demographics explain a good deal: In a decade, the entirety of the boomer generation — some 70 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 — will have hit retirement age. As a result, the number of people receiving Social Security benefits come 2034 will be more than double the beneficiaries in 1985. ​​

But what wasn’t known as accurately was how much longer those boomers would live. “From 1940 to 2019, life expectancies at age 65 have increased by about 6.5 years,” says Amy Kemp, chair of the Social Security Committee of the American Academy of Actuaries.

The impact: Many workers will be receiving benefits for a longer period of time. And those with higher incomes, which are generally those who receive higher benefit amounts, tend to live longer on average. ​

Author(s): John Waggoner

Publication Date: 1 March 2022

Publication Site: AARP

Here is the age when many Americans hope to retire

Mary Pat Campbell

Link:https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/03/here-is-the-age-when-many-americans-hope-to-retire.html

Excerpt:

The youngest cohort, Generation Y — ages 25 to 40 — plans to retire at an average age of 59. For Generation X — now 41 to 56 — the average age is 60. Baby boomers — who range from 57 to 75 — indicated they plan to work longer, with an average expected retirement age of 68.

That’s as 83% of non-retired U.S. investors said they are confident they will be financially secure in retirement. That includes 88% of Gen Y, 82% of Gen X and 79% of baby boomers.

Author(s): Lorie Konish

Publication Date: 3 Jan 2022

Publication Site: CNBC

Inequality, not gerontocracy — Who killed interest rates?

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://doctorow.medium.com/inequality-not-gerontocracy-fbd7d012ba4a

Graphic:

Excerpt:

The received wisdom among economists is that the US’s historical low interests rates are driven by high savings by aging boomers who are getting ready for, or in, retirement.

The idea is boomers have salted away so much cash that banks don’t bid for their savings, so interest rates fall.

But at last week’s Jackson Hole conference, a trio of economists presented a very different explanation for low interest, one that better fits the facts.

…..

So we can’t really say that low interest rates are being caused by an aging population with high retirement savings, because while the US population is aging, it does not have high savings. Quite the contrary.

And, as Robert Armstrong points out in his analysis of the paper for the Financial Times, even in places like Japan, with large cohorts of retirees and near-retirees who do have adequate savings, rates are scraping bottom.

…..

So why are rates so low? Well, the paper says it is being caused by high levels of savings — just not aging boomers’ savings. Rather, it’s the savings of the ultra-wealthy, the 1%, who are sitting on mountains of unproductive capital, chasing returns.

Author(s): Cory Doctorow

Publication Date: 1 September 2021

Publication Site: Cory Doctorow at Medium.com

As World Runs Short of Workers, a Boost for Wages—and Inflation

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-world-runs-short-of-workers-a-boost-for-wagesand-inflation-11620824675

Graphic:

Excerpt:

The U.S. population grew 7% between 2010 and 2020, according to census results. The age breakdown isn’t yet available, but a smaller sample by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the working-age population — those 16 to 64 — grew just 3.3%. Because the share of those people working or looking for work has shrunk, the working-age labor force grew only 2%, and actually shrank last year. Some of those missing workers will return when the virus recedes. But many won’t: Baby boomer retirements have soared.

Reversing this move would require either a dramatic increase in births, which has eluded countries with more-family-friendly policies, or immigration, which is politically hard.

The demographic squeeze is far more severe in China, which admits almost no immigrants and for years limited families to one child. Tuesday, authorities said the population in China had grown just 5.4% in the past decade. The working-age population — those 15 to 59 — shrank 5%, or roughly 45 million people. When worker shortages began emerging over a decade ago, factories began moving to poorer inland provinces and then cheaper countries including Vietnam. In recent years some indicators suggest jobs are getting harder to fill, though the data might not be nationally representative.

Author(s): Greg Ip

Publication Date: 12 May 2021

Publication Site: Wall Street Journal

MassMutual Sees Crisis Hitting Younger Adults Harder

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2021/03/29/massmutual-sees-crisis-hitting-younger-adults-harder/

Excerpt:

About 25% of the millennials and zoomers said they’re now having trouble with day-to-day expenses, compared with 19% of the GenXers and 9% of the boomers.

Twenty percent of the survey participants in the younger two age groups said they’ve had to adjust their lifestyles to keep costs down, compared with just 14% of the GenXers and 7% of the boomers.

Author(s): Allison Bell

Publication Date: 29 March 2021

Publication Site: Think Advisor

Pandemic Accelerates Retirements, Threatening Economic Growth

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/pandemic-accelerates-retirements-threatening-economic-growth-11616940000

Excerpt:

The labor force participation rate—the proportion of the population working or seeking work—for Americans age 55 and older has fallen from 40.3% in February of 2020 to 38.3% this February—representing a loss of 1.45 million people from the labor force.

The participation rate initially fell much more for prime-age workers, those between ages 25 and 54, from 82.9% in February last year to 79.8% in April, but has since jumped 1.3 points, to 81.1% in February of this year. By contrast, participation for older workers has shown no rebound from last spring.

Lydia Boussour, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said the unique health risk to older people during the pandemic has likely deterred them from rejoining the workforce in greater numbers. Public-health officials have warned that the risk of severe illness from Covid-19 increases with age. Among those who contract the virus, the death rate for those age 50-64 is nearly nine times that of those age 30-39, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Author(s): Amara Omeokwe

Publication Date: 28 March 2021

Publication Site: Wall Street Journal