Rising Costs of Living Force Baby Boomers To Rethink Retirement
Key Points
- By the end of 2025, many baby boomers will approach or reach full retirement age, but only one in 10 people will fully retire.
- The rising cost of living has been increasing and has forced many baby boomers to reconsider their retirement.
- Many retirees are also considering re-entering the workforce to bridge the gap between retirement income and high cost of living.
As many baby boomers retire, they also face rising costs of living, housing prices and health care, which encourages many to postpone retirement or re-enter the workforce.
About 60% of baby boomers or those born between 1946 and 1964 will be able to receive their Full retirement age (FRA) Social Security Benefits before the end of the year. However, according to a recent survey by Flex, an online job portal for temporary jobs, only 10% of this generation retires completely.
Additionally, almost half of the baby boomers say they plan to continue working in 2025, while 35% of babies are unsure whether they will retire this year due to the higher cost of living.
Consumer prices continue to rise for all Americans, especially those close to retirement age. In January 2025, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for 62 and over the age of 62 increased by 3.1% compared with the previous year, 9.3% higher than the CPI for all Americans.
Some advocates criticize Annual cost of living adjustment for social security (COLA) To avoid keeping up with inflation, experts say lag reduces the purchasing power of retirees. also, Insufficient amount of social security And it may end up not being able to provide the full benefit to the retirees.
“As the aging population enters retirement age, many people do not have enough funds to maintain economic security,” said Novo Cartarare, CEO and co-founder of Flex. “Previous generations could rely on pensions and affordable lives. Today’s baby boomers are browsing a financial landscape where social security alone is not enough to meet their current needs.”
To bridge the gap between their retirement income and the high cost of living, almost a quarter of retirees believe that endless work and temporary work is for extra money, holidays, gifts or socialization, and it does find it.