Living in Fear of Retirement – Pension Advice

There are a group of people who maybe worrying a fair bit about their retirement.  What with the gloomy forecasts that are bandied around through various types of media: we are in the full throes of a recession; the credit crisis will not resolve itself for at least 20 years; the banks are haemorrhaging our money and all the other financial horror stories we are bombarded with on a daily basis.

Who is this group of people living in fear of their future retirement? It is the baby boomers of course, those people who were born following WWII and up until the mid 1960’s. A significant proportion of the people born within the baby boomers generation are still in employment, chained to their jobs and living from pay-check to pay-check.

With an unprecedented number of people in the baby boom generation fast approaching the age of retirement, many economists and other financial bodies have voiced their concerns about a potential and imminent ‘retirement crisis’- is this problem going to become the next media scare? It seems more than likely, and people in the baby boom generation should brace themselves for the barrage of fear that will be levied in their direction by the media industry. The baby boom generation will be forced to ask itself the following questions: Will we ever be able to retire? Who is going to look after our financial stability? People can no longer expect to work for the same company for 30 years and receive the proverbial ‘gold watch’ at the end of their years in service.  

However, despite these fears, there is a growing trend that is seeing more and more of the baby boom generation retiring before the pensionable age of 65. It is forecast that such individuals are relying less on social security provisions, but more on investments, pension plans and the equity wrapped up in their homes in order to survive, and this is very different to the previous generation, who effectively created the welfare state and came to rely heavily on social assistance during their old age.

With the baby boomer generation entering their autumn years, the number of senior citizens in many countries worldwide is set to increase, including in Ireland, giving rise to fears that the government will be unable to assist all these individuals to any meaningful financial degree.

But the time to panic is not nigh, many steps can be taken to ensure that that this generation is well looked after during their old age. Although a large number of such people now feel themselves to be in a position that means they have to catch up with their peers in order to achieve a financially secure retirement, such prospects are not beyond reach. Many are searching for financial strategies that they can employ straightaway in order to give themselves a fighting chance, such as starting contributions in an Irish pension plan, if they have not yet done so already.

Despite the fact that this generation no longer has the luxury of being able to work for another 30 odd years in order to create the necessary wealth to continue living during their retirement years in the same manner to which they have become accustomed during their working years, things are not as bleak as they may at first seem.

The majority of people in the baby boom generation were taught to work hard and save money for a rainy day, and fortunately many have done so. The shortfalls between the financial income wanted in retirement, and the amount that will be available is not so great, nothing that a few tweaks to their personal lifestyle cannot iron out, downsizing may be needed, or a change in shopping habits perhaps?  

If the worst comes to the worst, however, with the advent of modern technologies, the internet for example, it is now more than possible to continue to work for an additional few years without being encumbered by company rules demanding retirement at a certain age, there are many areas of work that can be undertaken from the comfort of a living room, conservatory or even by the seaside, for those baby boomers who long to relax, all that is needed is an internet connection and a computer! To continue making pension contributions during this period is certain to help people in the baby boom generation secure their own financial freedom in the long-run.

This article is based on the author’s own observations and research and is not associated with any 3rd party organizations.