Baby boomers confront aging: Findings from a national online survey

The burgeoning number of baby boomers is projected to overwhelm governmental capacity to support their needs as they age and increase their dependence upon individual retirement capacity. Some segments will become increasingly vulnerable to economic disadvantage, particularly women and those in historically disadvantaged groups. This paper will present quantitative and qualitative findings from CommonHealth ACTION's 2011 and 2012 national online aging surveys, designed to collect personal perspectives about aging and retirement preparedness.

Findings from a sample of 1,082 baby boomers (2012 findings will also be included) showed that more women than men perceived they were unprepared to meet their needs as they aged, and were more concerned about healthcare costs and reductions in Social Security/Medicare. Blacks and Hispanics indicated they were less prepared for retirement than Whites: 36% of Blacks compared to 9% of Whites relied entirely on their Social Security checks; 35% of Black women lived alone (compared to 18% of White women); 41% of Black women (compared to 26% of White women) reported they did not have enough saved. More Hispanic women were unemployed than other women (11% vs 2%), lacked health insurance (11% vs 3%), and depended 100% upon Social Security (19% vs 11%).

Implications can inform policy regarding a potential retirement crisis for aging baby boomers and a growing threat of poverty for a substantial number of people as the wealth gap widens. It is imperative to ensure that all boomers age well and that we don't fail a large and growing segment of our population.