Baby Boomers Sacrificing Today to Enjoy Tomorrow

August 5, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The MainStay Investments' Boomer Retirement Lifestyle Study finds 76% of the Baby Boomers surveyed (age 45-65 that are not yet retired) are willing to spend less now to invest for a more comfortable lifestyle in the future.

Forty percent of the Boomers surveyed said they will have to delay retirement in order to afford the lifestyle they want.  Besides working longer, respondents said they are saving more, adjusting their portfolio allocations, and seeking help from financial advisers.  

According to a press release, when it comes to asset allocation, Baby Boomers say they are willing to sacrifice a portion of their assets if it will help them achieve their retirement goals.  Eighty-four percent of respondents said they would be willing to allocate a portion of their total assets in order to guarantee income for life. However, around half of those respondents said they would only be willing to allocate a portion of their assets if the income was enough to cover both basic and discretionary expenses.   

More than half (52%) said they do not plan to consolidate their retirement assets and almost half (48%) are not even using a financial adviser.   

Virtually all Baby Boomers (98%) said health care coverage is a very basic need—and a need that they are extremely concerned about being able to afford.  Almost three- quarters of respondents (74%) rated health care costs as either their greatest concern or their second greatest concern.  

More than half (55%) of respondents indicated they would rather work longer to pay for health care expenses than give up luxuries in retirement.

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