Baby boomers expecting to work longer, studies say

WASHINGTON — As the baby boomers begin to ease into their 60s, most expect to delay retirement longer than their parents or grandparents.

That's good, because many can't afford to stop working anytime soon.

Two new reports portray aging boomers as better educated, with higher incomes and longer life expectancies than the generations that preceded them. They also have fewer children and are less likely to be married, leaving them with fewer options if they need help in their old age.

"That one child they had will be very valuable," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

Frey is releasing a report today that says higher rates of divorce and separation could result in greater financial hardship for aging baby boomers. In 1980, about two-thirds of Americans age 55 to 64 lived in married-couple households. That percentage fell to less than 58 percent in 2005.

In Utah, the number of people age 65 and older is projected to reach 234,798 by 2010, a 23 percent increase since 2000, according to the report.

That's just the beginning of an aging boom in what remains a state known for its youth, said Pamela Perlich, senior research economist at the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

"We are going to see a dramatic increase in the numbers and shares of people over age 65," Perlich said. "It's going to balloon, particularly after 2010."

Utah's baby boomers do have the advantage of a larger family support network, said David Stringfellow, economist for the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget.

"People in general have larger families, and those families will be better able to support the elderly relative to the nation," he said.

However, Perlich said the state's traditional focus on youth issues leaves it "kind of unprepared" for the issues presented by impending aging boom. Particularly impacted will be Salt Lake County, where the elderly population is projected to account for 40 percent of the growth over the next 50 years, she said.

Americans had been retiring at ever-younger ages since the growth of private pensions and Social Security began more than 50 years ago. However, the retirement trend appears to be reversing.