Aging, but still optimistic about the future
Many boomers confident they’ll keep high standard of living into their senior years
They’re either optimistic, or delusional, but 89 per cent of older adults and 84 per cent of younger adults say they’re confident they can maintain a high quality of life throughout their senior years.
Support of friends and family is the top reason, followed by being happy about their living situation, being well-prepared financially, being in good health and generally being optimistic, according to a phone survey of more than 2,000 adults. The survey was part of a joint effort that included the U.S. National Council on Aging. On the financial front, 45 per cent of the older group wished they had saved more money; almost one-third wished they had made better investments.
Whether there’s actually enough set aside for retirement is partly up to an individual’s personality, suggests Louis Primavera, co-author of the 2012 book The Retirement Maze: What You Should Know Before and After You Retire. “Some people never have enough and some people think they never have enough, even though they may,” he says.
The researchers found more financial optimism than last year, but still almost half of the 60-and-older respondents say they’re concerned that their savings and income will be sufficient to last the rest of their lives.
Holly Stein, 66, of Silver Spring, Md., says she and her husband of 44 years, Howard Stein, 67, are both career educators who were cautious about their spending. Neither participated in the survey.
“I always used to think, working in education we probably would never have earned enough money to be able to comfortably retire,” she says. “But to my surprise, we did a good job of it.”
Geriatrician Tom Perls, a professor at Boston University School of Medicine, says the overall confidence expressed by the 60-plus survey group bodes well for their longevity.
Perls, founder and director of the New England Centenarian Study, the largest such survey in the world that is now in its 20th year, says those who live to 100 aren’t worry-free. Up to 40 per cent have age-related illnesses.
But, he says, “they have developed a means of coping with their illnesses in such a way they still live independently and maintain a relatively high quality of life.”
Additionally, because Baby Boomers are driving growth in the aging population, Perls says this group has a lot going for it.
“They’re better-educated. They’re more well-off financially than any group the country has ever encountered. They have better access to health care, better health-related choices, better diet and more exercise,” he says. “Baby Boomers are going to be a major force for the future in terms of how well the population is aging. The survey’s results are not surprising to me.”
Dennis Domer, of Baldwin City, Kansas, officially stopped working June 30 as project director at a University of Kansas program in Law- rence, but he isn’t retiring. “I’m in very good health,” he says. “At 70, I take no medicine at all. I walk a lot and exercise a lot. I don’t even talk about retirement because I call it moving on to the next project. Now, I’m moving on and beginning some consulting.” Although travel is on the minds of many older adults, 77 per cent of the survey respondents say they plan to stay in their current home the rest of their lives,17 per cent don’t, and 5 per cent don’t know. For those staying in their homes, 28 per cent plan modifications for aging. For the 68 per cent who aren’t making changes, the majority say it’s because their home is already suited to aging needs.