At last, an article that summarizes what many of us have known for years: “Americans Closest to Retirement Were Hit Hardest By Recession.”
Hello, Baby Boomers. Did you hear that?
According to the New York Times, Boomers are still struggling with recessionary fallout – specifically relative to employment, rates of pay, and as a consequence, the implications of taking early social security (which means less money, for life).
Might we add – there are data that suggest this shortens our lifespan?
Care for the details as covered in the Times?
Catherine Rampell writes:
In the current listless economy… the Labor Department’s latest jobs snapshot and other recent data reports present a strong case for crowning baby boomers as the greatest victims of the recession and its grim aftermath.
These Americans in their 50s and early 60s — those near retirement age who do not yet have access to Medicare and Social Security — have lost the most earnings power of any age group…
Their retirement savings and home values fell sharply at the worst possible time… They are supporting both aged parents and unemployed young-adult children…
Surprised?
Pas moi.
Boomer Fact, Fiction… and Fear
Virtually all the Boomers I know personally have suffered financially over the past five years – and disproportionately compared to those who are younger.
The reasons I say that?
It’s impossible to sell homes, or they’re sold at a loss; it’s impossible to relocate, tied to teenagers and home-based young adults; medical conditions may narrow their options; aging parents add to the logistical and financial burdens; stress complicates everything, and compromises health.
The only exceptions that I’ve encountered are those in long-term marriages wherein one or both have been able to maintain regular employment. Even so, cutbacks and compromises have been required at a time in life when the couples involved thought they could ease off, just a little.
Dreams of retirement may be out the window. Fear, on the other hand, is always nearby. The nature of that fear?
Finding themselves where so many others do – once out of work, unable to get employment again – or working sans benefits and at drastically reduced rates of pay – another factor pointed out by the Times article.
Employment Obstacles for Boomers
Think those unemployment fears are unfounded?
Ms. Rampell cites research and labor data that show:
… the average duration of unemployment for older people was 53 weeks, compared with 19 weeks for teenagers…
The lengthy process is partly because older workers are more likely to have been laid off from industries that are downsizing… older people are also more likely to own their own homes and be less mobile than renters…
Older workers are more likely to have a disability of some sort, perhaps limiting the range of jobs that offer realistic choices.
The Times article goes on to offer the example of a 62-year old worker, a freelance writer, who juggles three part-time jobs. If she so much as breaks a wrist (and consequently couldn’t work), it’s a quick trip to losing her home.
As for time and energy to retool, recoup, or recover?
At 32, sure. Why not? At 42, likewise, though if kids are involved, it may be more complicated.
At 52? It’s a crap shoot. And 62?
You tell me.
Boomers Rising?
But what about the media we see and read that suggest a brand new wave of Midlife Mavericks? Aren’t we also experiencing All Things Boomer on an upswing?
Pop culture is telling us that at 49+ we’re in our prime, as statistics proclaim we’re the demographic with the largest amount of disposable income. Might we view ourselves as the Next Big Thing when it comes to exerting influence on brands and advertisers?
After all, Boomers comprise 26% of the population, we’re reshaping the travel industry, we’re availing ourselves of the Beauty Biz, not to mention divorcing in midlife and older – and then dating defiantly.
And we’re certainly consuming pharmaceuticals (to stay perky and sexual) and health care services (if we can afford them).
So how do we reconcile these clearly contradictory lines of thought? Could this be another case of the Haves and the Have Nots – alive and well among the 49 to 67-year olds?
As for the “reinvention revolution,” our time and dollars may well be put into looking younger (so we may compete?), feeling stronger (so we maintain stamina for more part-time work with no pretense of security?), and keeping a stiff upper lip because Never Let Them See You Sweat is the American Way.
Hey! It keeps us busy, doesn’t it? It keeps hopes buoyant and feeds many an industry in the process!
I will also admit to being a proponent of taking stock; we can always learn from assessing what we’re doing and how we’re doing it.
But I remain confused. Are we breathing deeply and planning that European vacation, albeit shorter than we once anticipated? Or are we living our own private Hell, scrambling to make ends meet, unable to compete against younger (cheaper) workers despite our experience, all but defeated by a shrinking “traditional” job market, and taking whatever we can – to keep going as long as we can?
You tell me.
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I suspect those hit hardest by the vicissitudes of the market and economy, okay of life, are those who didn’t save enough during their youth. There is this notion of paying yourself first that talks to how much money we blow through as we move through our relatively short lives. (Relative compared to a Blue Marble spaceship that is 4.5 billion years old, or so.)
Bad decisions, impulsive purchases, poor choices of partners all add up to a world of hurt for the majority of the US population. It could and does happen to to almost anyone. And I’m not even talking about those who *love* the drama, so much so that they purposely make bad choices, like smoking, unprotected sex with strangers, drugs, and the new drama, texting while driving.
Gandalfe, I dare say you’ve just bought into a passel of assumptions. Many do not make “bad” decisions, impulse purchases, and as for poor choices of partners, since when does any marriage come with a guarantee?
We were victims. My husband was unemployed for three years after a layoff… we ate through all “retirement” funds and built up some debt. BUT, the good news is…neither one of us really want to retire… we like working!! We are attempting to be more resourceful and become better stewards of our money. He is now fulltime employed and I am working several jobs ….one full-time, the rest freelance. But the freelance fuels me….I love it. We have a son still living at home while attending college. The layoff gave my husband time to get healthy, to rethink his profession, and to reevaluate his life. I think if he had stayed where he was he would have been a zombie. Yes, we have financial struggles and tough decisions ahead…but as I approach 60, I am happier than I have ever been. It doesn’t have to be depressing… it is possible to see things in a different light. We just live it one day at a time and do not think about what we might not have… just what we have right now!
Very healthy attitude, Pam!
Gandalfe, in my opinion you are overestimating the internal and underestimating the external factors that have caused many baby boomers to now be suffering financially. You are basically saying that the majority of us are where we are because we are flawed internally which led us to be less able to deal with external issues such as a drop in the fair market value of our homes, the loss of investment monies or a spouse who decides to divorce after decades of marriage.
My husband left me to raise two boys on my own, with a family court system that didn’t hold him responsible when he refused to live up to his financial obligation to his children. My home lost enormous value in the housing bubble of 2008 putting me in a situation of probably never being able to rebuild the equity I had in the home. That same year I was diagnosed with a debilitating physical ailment, one that I work around every day. And when I say work, I mean work at my job, one that I’m grateful to have because due to no choice of my own I will work until I’m well past 70. I will only retire when I become physically unable to work and that is not a situation that I live with based on poor choices I’ve made.
I don’t know anything about you but I do know about life and love and choices and can tell you that NOTHING is guaranteed. And many, many people end up in bad places out of no choice of their own. My brother-in-law just lost his job, the same company he worked for, for 34 years. He went to work one day and within an hour was packing up his office. He isn’t out of work at 60 due to any bad choices he made or bad job performances.
I’m working with a client whose husband has left her after 36 years of marriage. The home they have owned for over 25 years will have to be sold. All savings and retirement will have to be split, if of course, he doesn’t spend the majority of it on his new lover before she can get him in front of a judge.
Maybe I should tell this wife, mother and grandmother that her world in falling apart because she made a poor choice in her partner? I’m sure she will feel better about the loss of her marriage and her plans for their future if I tell her what she is now suffering is due to a stupid choice she made.
There is this skewed belief by some that when bad things happen to other people it is due to some internal factor…laziness, stupidity, greed or impulsive spending. My BIL, the one who just lost his job used to think like you until he was forced to see things from the other side. I haven’t enjoyed the struggles I’ve faced but I have learned some valuable life lessons. Empathy and understanding for the circumstances of others is one of them.
I have a suggestion for you…next time you hear of someone struggling, instead of blaming them or viewing them as being flawed in some way, say this to yourself, “there but for the grace of God.” Because, the vast majority of us who are or have suffered (lived a world of hurt) are no less virtuous than you, we just had a run of bad luck which can happen to you as well, regardless of the choices you have made or will make in the future.
Sorry I come across as so callous. I just never give up. That’s me. I know there is a lot that happens in that none of us have control over. Kudos to those who find a way to overcome the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. I have specific cases where I can’t help family who continue to make bad choices. Sometimes all I can do is be there for them. And I am often caught saying, “There but for the grace of God go any of us.”
Gandalfe, I definitely recommend the New York Times article that I cite, and suggest linking to it and reading in entirety. It might be eye-opening for you – and many. Among other stats quoted, the article references a survey by the Rutgers Heidrich Center for Workforce Development,
There are many more concerning points that warrant reading and thought.
I would also suggest that the individuals mentioned in the article (and millions like them) are examples of “never give up.” I include myself in that group. If they had given up, they wouldn’t be working the two and three part-time jobs they are, and still scrambling for solutions.
Ok, here goes. As a member of the Baby Bust, I have to say (slight chip, here) that the Baby Boom generation is the most entitled-centric, self-absorbed generation on the planet. You had your sex, drugs, and rock and roll, You had your Greed is Good. You bought gigantic SUVs and devil-may-care. Mine, mine, mine. Well, welcome to the rest of us.
Ok, a bit harsh.
Might you be confusing the generations, Judi? While I’m not looking to compare the “entitled” – we certainly see issues that arise from that – it seems to me that depending upon which wave of Boomers you’re referencing, we have a generation that said NO to the greed and acquisition that came during the post-war period during which they were born.
Observing my own friends and acquaintances (who cross generations and largely range in age from late 30s to late 60s), I see everything across all generations – signs of believing they are entitled (the world “owes” them – so what’s going on?) to those who have simply put their heads down and worked hard – studying, raising kids, spinning dreams (don’t we all?), growing tired, counting their blessings all the same, wherever they may find themselves, but wondering what happened to the “American Dream” or anything close.
So, I’m not quite sure what you mean by “welcome to the rest of us.”
Ouch – and a generation that feels entitled, in my experience, is the one that’s come after mine – my children’s age (20’s-30’s). Children who were so often raised to be protected from any hurt, or losing in any game, or learning self-respect through making it on their own, and having their college education paid for on the backs of parents working 2 jobs to give them that “right.”
Welcome to the rest of us? Seriously? I think “welcome to life” as we’ve known it is more appropriate. Mine, mine, mine is simply what most of us are trying to hold onto, working hard to avoid waving a white flag. Does not attending to the younger generation’s every trial and hardship make us bullies and self-absorbed, devil-may-care boomers?
A bit harsh? Uhm….yes, Judi. A whole lot over-generalized? Absolutely.
Another great article. I read your source material yesterday and share your thoughts. I blog about mid-life change and would love you share some of your excellent work!
Looks like your article struck a nerve with some folks…. And thank you to BLW, Cathy and Barb for setting them straight.
I never expected to be where I am. I’ve worked hard all my life (3 jobs in college) and here I sit with 2 part-time jobs, caregiving for an ex-husband (that has drained away most of my savings), getting ready to care for my mother, in a house that I can’t sell given the market and its need for renovations and wondering how to dig out.
Because I stayed at home to raise my sons, my retirement will be less than adequate… if the Republicans don’t come in full force and strip away more of my/our rights.
If I were a man, or maybe 20 years younger I think I’d have a better chance of finding full-time work. As it is I’m making it and not really complaining…though healthcare costs for a self-employed woman are through the roof.
Wow, this is a “hot” topic and a complex one. Bottomline in my world is that it is a call to look to doing life quite differently. I am a single boomer woman and there are tons of us (many by choice). It is this demographic that has the opportunity and the adventure “to do lifestyles differently”. I write about “borderless broads”, women who consider new options, one of which is to get off the singular lifestyle wagon of my house, my resources and my worries. I call it “pod living”, creating home bases where women enjoy private space and common space and choose to retrofit huge houses (of which there are many on the market) into shared space or live in solo small attached cottages, but share lots of the everyday needs by pooling resources. And then….. there is the fun of shared creativity and intimacy that comes from moving beyond the individual lifestyle to sharing some parts of it to lessen financial strain and isolation. Life is option-filled and it is just looking beyond the mainstream options we have been trained into.
“Pod living.” Would love to hear more about this, Morgana.
Yes, guilty of gross generalizations on the babyboom generation. And I’m not that far behind you, agewise, and so am completely invested in (more like obsessively preoccupied with) my ability to be able to retire one day and not have to work for the rest of my life. I’m not arguing against the idea that the American Dream has been hijacked by greedy Wallstreet types and inadequate regulatory oversight and that people are working harder for less and watching their nest eggs disappear if they ever even had one. Yes, yes, yes. I get it. But who was the biggest voting block over the last two decades? I support a much more robust safety net than we have. And babyboomers of all people should be championing that cause nonstop. What I mean by “welcome…” is that we all are working with (living in) the world that the huge babyboom generation essentially has forged. I am not saying it’s all bad. But to a great degree, whatever the status is, your generation is as much to blame for current problems as you are for current successes. Let’s hope we can all work together and fashion a more humane future for all of us.
A big YES to a real safety net, Judi. And a big YES to working together toward a more humane future for all of us.
I voluntarily moved on from my job because I could no longer cope with a full time stressful job, aging parents and grandchildren, something had to give and it was me.
I’ve always had a strong work ethic but had reached the point where the price of staying in the workforce was too high, ie the money was not worth the demands on my time and health.
I am undergoing a mid life reinvention looking for a sustainable way that I can integrate work into life.
Priska, Thank you for joining in. I hope you’ll keep us posted as to what you’re trying and how it’s going. I hear you on the “something had to give” and the desire for a more sustainable way of life.
If you look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics latest numbers, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat03.htm, you see that there’s a lower percentage of boomers out of work than the other age groups. Of course there’s a larger number who have already dropped out (not looking for a job) and are self employed. Those that are self employed are not measured in any age category, which is interesting since we’re reading so much about that and entrepreneurship being a new avenue to earning an income for the young and older. No real comparative numbers were quoted in the NY Times article. We’re all in this together, that is redefining how one makes a living and creates a life style.
Why do they keep calling this Depression a recession? I love what Morgana said about pod living. Our richness and our security is in community, not money.