Baby Boomers Unsure About the Robustness of Their Nest Eggs

April 10, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Nearly 30% of baby boomers have saved less than $25,000 for their retirement and nearly the same amount (31%) say they will not be able to keep up their current lifestyle in retirement, according to a recent study by investment firm Scottrade.

According to a press release on the survey of 1,000 respondents for Scottrade s 2007 American Retirement Study:

  • 65% believe they have not saved enough for retirement;
  • 42% say they will not have enough money to do the things they want to do when they retire;
  • 23% of Boomers say they will never be able to retire and not need to earn an income;
  • 41% will have to keep working during retirement.

The greatest financial concern among respondents was having enough money for retirement, with 62% saying that was their biggest fear. Among other concerns were: having enough money to cover health care costs (50%); unexpected expenses (50%); protecting family in case of premature death/disability (43%); getting good investment returns (44%); and protecting wealth (38%).

The most common form of retirement savings for boomers are 401(k) plans, with 51% of boomers relying on such plans, 37% also have individual retirement accounts (IRAs), a simplified employee pension plan (SEP) or similar retirement plans, according to Scottrade.

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