CHICAGO, Sept. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A majority of our country's middle-income Boomers expect their retirement to be defined by greater mental stimulation, more physical activity and more personal satisfaction than the retirement of previous generations. However, they also anticipate their retirement to include less retiree health insurance from former employers (60%), less financial security (47%) and less care provided by family members (47%), according to a latest study by the Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center for a Secure Retirement ® (CSR).
The study, Retirement Care Planning: The Middle-Income Boomer Perspective, which surveyed 1,299 Americans ages 49 to 67 with an annual household income of between $25,000 and $75,000, also found that a majority do not believe their retirement care will be the same as it was for previous generations.
Retirement Care Perceptions
Boomers characterize retirement care of the past as including reliance on family members for care, nursing homes and moving in with their children— elements of retirement care that will be less common in the future.
Elements of retirement care that Boomers expect to be more common in the future primarily relates to an increased degree of self-reliance and a greater sense of independence from family. They expect care of the future to include the use of remote monitoring technology (78%), independent living communities (78%), high-priced care (76%), outpatient care (74%) and long-term care insurance (72%).
Retirement Care Preferences
Boomers are changing expectations for retirement care. Nearly eight times as many Boomers (84%) prefer to receive care at home as those preferring a nursing home facility (11%) or care at the home of one of their children (11%).
When asked whom they prefer to administer their care, the majority preferred their spouse to fulfill that role. For personal caregiving requirements, such as assistance with bathing and dressing, Boomers are more likely to rely on help from a home health aide rather than their children.
Retirement Care Outlook
Many middle-income Boomers with adult caregiving experience have different opinions, priorities and behaviors regarding their future retirement care than those of their non-caregiver peers.
In fact, those Boomers with first-hand caregiving experience are more likely to believe that they may need long-term care in the future (45% for caregivers vs. 30% for non-caregivers). They are more likely to have a retirement care plan than their non-caregiving counterparts (33% vs. 25%) and more open to meeting with a professional advisor than those without caregiving experience (71% vs. 60%).
"Increasingly, the responsibility for retirement security is falling on the shoulders of retirees themselves," said Chris Campbell, senior vice president of marketing and communications at Bankers Life and Casualty Company, a national life and health insurer. "While Boomers recognize that retirement is changing, more planning and preparation for their retirement and in particular for the care they may need in retirement would be a positive step toward ensuring retirement security."
Methodology
The Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center for a Secure Retirement's study Retirement Care Planning: The Middle-Income Boomer Perspective was conducted in April 2013 by the independent research firm The Blackstone Group. The full report can be viewed at CenterForASecureRetirement.com.
A nationwide sample of 1,299 Americans ages 49 to 67, who have an annual household income of between $25,000 and $75,000, participated in the Internet-based survey. Of the sample, 505 responses were categorized as caregivers. Caregivers are defined as current or former caregivers to a parent, step-parent, in-law or spouse due to a disability, a chronic disease or old age.
The margin of error is 2.72 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
About the Center for a Secure Retirement
The Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center for a Secure Retirement is the Company's research and consumer education program. Its studies and consumer awareness campaigns provide insight and practical advice for how everyday Americans can achieve financial security during retirement. To learn more, visit CenterForASecureRetirement.com.
Established in 1879 in Chicago, Bankers Life and Casualty Company focuses on the insurance needs of the retirement market. The nationwide company, a subsidiary of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO), offers a broad portfolio of health and life insurance and annuities designed especially for retirees. To learn more, visit Bankers.com.
SOURCE Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center for a Secure Retirement