What does the State of the U.S. Economy and the Recession mean to the Baby Boomer?

The Baby Boomer generation includes those born in the U.S. between 1946 and 1964. That means in 2008, those born in 1946 are reaching the minimum Social Security retirement age of 62. This is right at the same time the news channels are using the word recession when reporting on the U.S. economy. And, if a Baby Boomer has ignored the term during his or her lifetime (because there have been other recessions), it might hit close to home now. So how is a Baby Boomer affected by the recession and the general poor state of the U.S. economy today? Let’s take a look at a few sobering realities:

Those who are older are going to be working longer. If the Baby Boomer is able to, he or she will probably hold out to age 65 before retiring or even try to work past that. This is because the state of the U.S. economy has probably put a strain on the 401K plans offered by their employers. But most of all, a Social Security check just will not make ends meet because of the extremely high prices.

Those Baby Boomers that are uninsured for healthcare will have an impact on the U.S. economy even more. You will see more of these people needing surgery and medical treatment but will be unable to pay for it. If they do happen to receive the treatment and cannot pay, they have no other choice to ignore the bill. You will see more medical accounts head into collections.

There will probably be a rise in medical tourism which will take even more business away from the U.S. economy. Because of the health insurance turmoil and the rise in the uninsured population, medical tourism will become more of a reality. Baby Boomers have to get treated and you will see them head to countries where medical care is much more affordable and just as good as American healthcare. The exporting of consumption like this will do nothing to cure the recession.

Many Baby Boomers will require skill changes in order to keep working but college is out of reach. Because of the recession and condition of the U.S. economy, you will find that many companies will reduce their workforce through a combination of layoffs, hiring freezes, early retirement, and regular attrition. Older workers or Baby Boomers are the candidates for early retirement. But because of higher prices and the poor state of the U.S. economy they will still have to work and may have to opt for new job skills in order to be hired again. If the career change requires attending college classes, the high costs will make this option impossible for the Baby Boomers.

The state of the U.S. economy will make it even more difficult for the younger adult children of Baby Boomers to care for parents. Because of the high prices plaguing the U.S. economy, you will see the adult children of Baby Boomers totally unable to care for their aging parents. And then, the high cost of nursing homes makes that option difficult too. Many Baby Boomer couples will be forced to do things like sell off their homes in order to pay for other things like assisted living, nursing care, and medical care.

And because of advances in medicine, a very populous Baby Boomer generation is reaching retirement age when the U.S. economy is strained the most. The answers to the problem are not easy.