Comfortable retirement a fading dream for many
SFGate, June 16, 2008
Ruth Britton enjoys her part-time work as a
college instructor. But, at 69, there are plenty of other things the
Greenbrae resident would like to do - volunteer, write, take classes,
travel.
The problem is, with the cost of living rising and the value of her
investments falling, Britton can't do without the money she gets from
teaching. She's already put off retirement several years. Now, she says
she may have to stay on the job four or five years more.
"When someone asked me a few years ago when I would like to retire, I said 68, and here I am going on 70," Britton said.
For more Americans, the dream of a comfortable retirement is fading.
The trend marks one of the great social transformations of the
postwar era. For four decades following World War II, an increasingly
affluent society afforded a growing number of older people the chance
to leave their jobs and enjoy a secure retirement. Social Security,
private pensions and, beginning in the 1960s, Medicare allowed tens of
millions of seniors to live decent lives without punching the clock.
About a generation ago, the tide began to turn. Guaranteed monthly
pensions gave way to 401(k)s that handed workers rather than employers
the lion's share of responsibility for funding retirement. And health
care costs began eating up ever-larger portions of seniors' income.
Quitting not an option
Today, for millions of older Americans, quitting their jobs is no
longer an option. That's cold water for the leading edge of the Baby
Boom generation, just now moving into its retirement years.
"I was a typical Baby Boomer. We pretty much didn't think about it,"
said Redwood City resident Michael Adler, 56, who works as a facilities
manager for a South San Francisco biotechnology company. "Now I'll
probably have to wait until I'm 72 (to retire), unless my company's
stock takes off."
The stay-at-work trend has accelerated in the last year as the
economy has stalled, eroding savings, home values and wealth.
Government data show a higher proportion of seniors working now than at
any time in the last three decades.
In April, 16.6 percent of people age 65 or older were in the
workforce, compared with a postwar low of 10.8 percent in 1985. Among
those in the 65-to-69 age bracket, fully 30.7 percent were working or
looking for jobs, up from 18.4 percent in 1985.
The shift is affecting even the affluent. A nationwide survey
earlier this year of 60-year-olds with $1 million or more in assets
commissioned by the Oakland financial planning firm Bell Investment
Advisors found that 11 percent of those who responded said they were
postponing their retirement.
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