I decided to do a little research regarding this whole issue of "too many baby boomers becoming senior citizens", and thus have one word of advice: DON'T DO IT!...that is, don't research statistics regarding the state of us "over sixty's". Specifically do not Google "baby boomer statistics".
I knew going in that it might be discouraging, however, as I scanned the first page of articles, it became apparent that the situation is far beyond discouraging. Alarming and depressing would be more accurate descriptors... of this now well documented phenomenon. The list of following phrases jumped out at me in quick succession: "aging statistics are staggering"..."If you want to frighten Baby Boomers, just show them the list of statistics"..."Scary Health Staistics"..."Aging baby boomers are fatter and sicker than their predecessors", (did they have to get insulting about the whole thing?).
As I dared to look further at one particular article, it of course only became worse: "According to the AARP, 40 per cent of Baby Boomers plan on 'working til they drop' "..."State and local governments are facing trillions of underfunded pension liabilities"..."Verizon's pension plan is underfunded by 3.4 billion dollars". These kinds of statements are in addition to the everyday messages we are getting that Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare will be bankrupt sometime in the next 25 years.
What the heck happened here? Did we do something wrong? Were we foolish or uninformed? Were we selfish?
I think as with most things in life, there is no one answer and no simple answer. A lot of what happened is fairly common knowledge. We are simply living longer, into our eighties and nineties. When employers, including governments, promised pensions, they expected to pay out for about ten to twenty years, not twenty to thirty years. The cost of medical care has become an out of control train wreck...when reading, another statistic is about the increase in senior citizens filing for bankruptcies, including those who thought they had "good" medical insurance, due to medical bills. The federal and state governments are looking at Social Security and Medicaid and huge across-the-board deficits. And as the tsunami of AARP citizens is overtaking the countryside, the country is and has been facing one overall economic and employment crisis after another for everyone of every age.
So this is pretty disconcerting stuff. We all fall somewhere on the continuum. I have many friends who do have good pensions and retirement packages, and will be okay. I feel as if I fall somewhere in the middle, my financial situation was impacted by a late-in-the-game divorce, but I am lucky to have a good job and for now a "benefits" package. And I know others who are getting by, but very, very, anxious about their situation. And I am also noticing the number of folks who are working in the hospitals and drug store counters who are clearly in their seventies, and look very tired to me.
We didn't know it would roll out like this. People don't plan on getting sick with chronic illnesses, losing spouses at a young age, getting divorces late in life, having adult children who need their support for a plethora of reasons, losing good jobs in their fifties and becoming "unemployable", and fighting the tide of a raceaway cost of living.
So we are in crisis. And we are in it together. We need to keep that pizzazz that got us this far. We need to look at the big picture, keep our wits about us, and most important, keep our sense of humor.
Let's figure it out. We are after all...the Baby Boomers...children of Aquarius...survivors of lifetimes of challenges. We care about each other, always have, always will. And we have to look down the road for our kids. We know how to be informed, and make good decisions, and have realistic expectations. So let's learn all we can, and not blame the government or each other. It's what we need to do.
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