Meet The Boomers...USA Today Looks At The Retirement Boom
USAToday looks at retirement issues this week. Turning 62, The retirement boom begins.
Day 2...How will You Pay For Health Care?
In the past, retirees could often count on their employers to provide health insurance until Medicare kicked in, or sometimes even after they were eligible for Medicare. But in 2007, only a third of large employers offered retiree health insurance, down from 66% in 1988, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Education Trust. Only 5% of employers with fewer than 200 employees offered retiree health insurance last year.
The millions who will retire early without company-provided health insurance may need to buy a health care policy to last them until Medicare kicks in at age 65. Unfortunately, individual policies for people in their 60s can be hugely expensive, with premiums topping $900 a month for family coverage. And those in poor health might be unable to find a policy at any price.
Day 3...Older Boomers Have Better Jobs And Benefits
•Better retirement benefits. Early boomers are more likely to have a traditional "defined-benefit" pension from their employer than younger boomers are, notes Ron Gebhardtsbauer, senior pension fellow for the American Academy of Actuaries. Unlike 401(k) plans, traditional pensions require no contributions from the employee; all money comes from their employer. Older boomers qualified for "great pensions at a young age," he says, in addition to 401(k) accounts, which arrived later.
Wise Owl