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Retirement Planning > Retirement Investing

The retirement boom is here to stay

By Michael K. Stanley

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There has been much said about the present opportunity for financial service firms and professionals to capitalize on the waves of boomers set retire in the next few years.

A less-known fact that provides just as much potential for the industry was recently reported by LIMRA: The number of Americans reaching 65 years old each year will continue to grow beyond the boomer generation.

It was an accepted fallacy that after the last of the boomers transition into retirement, numbers retiring in subsequent generations will dwindle.

According to LIMRA that is not the case. Citing the U.S. Census Bureau, LIMRA reported that in 2013, 3.4 million are projected to reach age 65; in 2023, 4.1 million will reach 65 and 4.2 million will hit retirement age by 2050.

Generation X and Y (age 30-48) bring 78.4 million prospective customers to the door of the industry while a group of 82 million 11-29 year-olds will follow in the next 35-55 years.

The enthusiasm the industry is showing regarding the flurry of potential planning opportunities with the boomer generation should not wane. It would behoove the industry to adapt marketing materials and to cultivate long-term, sustained relationships with members of younger generations.

LIMRA estimates that there will be $22 trillion in investible assets from Americans 55 and older that can be put into retirement solution products — such as annuities — by 2020. Younger generations will be even keener on utilizing the financial services industry (due to the atrophy of defined benefit plans) and are likely to have even greater investible assets by the time they reach 55.

As LIMRA puts it, “The retirement boom is here to stay — the trick is whether the industry can help future retirees keep from going bust.”

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