We point to the indispensable Jerome Corsi and his Red Alert newsletter, who found that before the recession about 15 percent of the 78 million baby boomers intended to work until they died, but now that has risen to more than 25 percent. Whether the number levels off or continues to rise is anyone’s guess. Other pleasant boomer-related stats courtesy of Corsi:
- Home values have lost 25 percent or more of their peak 2006 value in most urban areas throughout the nation;
- Mutual funds and 401(k) plans invested in mutual funds may have experienced losses of up to 50 percent in the past 18 months, depending upon the exact mix of mutual funds underlying the investment;
- Pension funds face uncertain futures for companies that have gone out of business, with losses in pension and retirement health benefits uncertain for UAW workers in the restructured Chrysler and GM bankruptcies; and
- Inflation hitting fixed income retired seniors particularly hard, as living expenses appear on the increase with the price of oil once again topping $60 a barrel in last week’s trading.
Of course, just when they need the work, now comes word of fewer jobs and more competition among older workers. Hard to figure how a 60-year-old baby boomer will fare on one of the President’s highway infrastructure projects.