Meet the ‘Beatlemania boomers.’ They face a looming retirement crisis
USAToday, Daniel de Visé
The youngest baby boomers, born in the era that spawned Beatlemania, face a looming retirement crisis, researchers have found.
“Late boomers,” Americans born between 1960 and 1965, have less retirement wealth, and much less retirement savings, than either older boomers or “war babies,” generations born between 1942 and 1959, according to a recent paper from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
To compare wealth, researchers examined different generational groups in the same age range, adjusting for inflation.
In the aftermath of the Great Recession, at ages 51 to 56, the average “late boomer” had about $280,000 in combined wealth from Social Security, pension benefits and 401(k)-type retirement plans, in inflation-adjusted dollars. The calculation covers households in the middle 20% by wealth.
Earlier generations had more wealth at the same ages. The average “mid boomer,” born between 1954 and 1959, had about $332,000 in total retirement wealth. The average “early boomer,” born between 1948 and 1953, had nearly $346,000.