The first wave of boomer retirees broke this year, and
more will keep coming for the next two decades. Here,
three boomer-focused producers talk challenges and
opportunities for boomers, post-financial meltdown.
Isometimes look at the significant financial is- sues our country is facing — and that individ- ual households within our country are facing
— and I ask myself, “Are we really that naïve? Did
we not see this coming?”
Everything’s clearer in hindsight, of course,
and we now better understand how we got our-
selves into the current mess of the real estate
crash, unprecedented national debt, high unem-
ployment and so forth. (By the way, understand-
ing how we got here doesn’t mean we’re ready
to take the difficult steps to get us back to where
we need to be. But understanding the problems
is a necessary start.)
No matter how clear the problems look to us
right now, there is no doubt that we have had an
economic shock to our system. And I would venture to say that no demographic group was taken
more by surprise than the baby boomers. Many
of the significant economic beliefs held by baby
boomers (and inherited from their parents) were
turned upside down: “Your home is your best in-
vestment and will never lose value.” “If you work
hard and save wisely, you’ll certainly have enough
to retire when you’re 65.” “If you find a good com-
pany with which to grow your career, stick with
it, and the company will certainly reward you for
your dedication by sticking with you.”
But the problem goes beyond simple shock at
learning that much of what many of us believed
about our economic way of life no longer holds
water. The shock is a hit to our financial lives, caus-
ing many boomers to delay retirement, scale back
their lifestyles and make other important changes
to the way they live.
In this month’s discussion, I posed questions
about the boomer market to three savvy producers
who specialize in serving this group of people. Answering my questions about the unique problems
boomers face and the solutions that can help them
are Jennifer P. Mann, M.B.A., CLU, ChFC; Jeff
Root; and W. Thomas Spencer, Jr., CLU, ChFC.
