SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The year 2024 will be record-breaking for retirement.
‘Peak 65' marks the largest surge of Americans reaching retirement age in history.
Barron’s, a Dow Jones publication, says an average of 11,000 Americans are expected to celebrate their 65th birthday daily from now through December. In total, roughly 4 million people nationwide will turn 65.
It’s going to impact everything from prices to jobs and healthcare. Everyone will feel the weight — even if they aren’t 65 or older.
“There's going to be fewer younger people, relative to the older people,” said Derek Stimel, a UC Davis associate economics professor.
It means fewer working-age people will contribute to programs like Social Security, so if you’re a retiree, your budget is now more important than ever.
“When you're retired and in this age range…you're going to consume more than you save, your income is likely to be lower,” said Stimel. “What are you going to rely on? Are you going to rely on outside services, basically, (to) kind of fill the gap a little bit?”
Turning 65 is a milestone for many Americans because it’s the year they can enroll in Medicare.
“Healthcare costs will probably be strained, prescription drugs, all those sorts of things," said Stimel. "Care for the elderly, maybe even things like food delivery to the extent that they have to rely on getting groceries delivered to their house."
On the plus side, jobs are likely to be plentiful.
“A lot of the baby boomers who are retiring are very experienced, very knowledgeable workers, often highly educated," he said. "So, as they leave, there's going to be shortages in their fields."
Younger workers can expect job openings in fields like accounting, medical, healthcare and other white-collar fields.
“Finding the right skills and the knowledge, or at least the adaptability to kind of go out and find those jobs in those areas where there are shortages, will be very useful,” said Stimel.
He says working-age people should expect to see higher taxes.
“Will they have to plan for sort of a future where Social Security benefits maybe won't be as large?...They'll have to work longer before they qualify for them," he said. "So, we raise the retirement age."
Our Dollars & Sense tip: Working-age people should save and invest for retirement and start sooner than later. It’s never too early to start.
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