Ida Mae Fuller of Vermont was the very first social security recipient. She received check 001. This was in 1940 and her check was for about $22.00 per month. Miss Fuller lived to be 100 years old. She collected social security until the age of 100.
Fast forward to February 2008. Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, 62, was born one second after midnight on Jan. 1, 1946. is considered to be the very first “Baby Boomer.” The retired teacher who lives in Earleville, Md., and Vero Beach applied for her benefits online, and received her payment by direct deposit at age 62. That started the wave, a tsunami in a sense, of nearly 80 million baby boomers — about 10,000 per day — becoming eligible for Social Security over the next two decades and dipping into an overtaxed system.
The question on hand is how will baby boomers insure their income lasts as long as they do? Life expectancy continues to grow and many Americans do not have enough saved in the proper financial tools to get the job done for the long haul. We have seen in the downturns of the stock market we experienced more than one since the year 2000 drain many a secure retirement into something less than sufficient.
Another tsunami that must be prepared for is the cost of long term care. We boomers must prepare for our own long term care costs or risk jeopardizing our children’s retirement. Not enough of us have the proper protection in place.
Has the next generation “parent proofed” their retirement or will they wind up in the dilemma of deciding who gets sacrificed, their parent’s long term care needs, their children’s college funding, or their own retirement?
Preparing for retirement in the 21st century means that you have to plan for your money to deliver a predictable and reliable stream of income for several decades. It’s going to require different ways of assessing and managing risk.
Have we as baby boomers sufficiently prepared for the future? You can schedule a 15 minute complimentary phone appointment right here on this site or email me at Bonnie@kratosfinancia.wpengine.com for a 60 second pressure test of your current financial plan.
