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| According to a recent report from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), New York State’s population of baby boomer retirees could potentially put almost $2 billion back into the state’s economy per year. However, the operative word here is “potentially,” and the likelihood of this actually happening is pretty low, due to the high number of retirees who relocated out-of-state. In a survey last spring, more than half of all baby boomers who are currently working but who intend to retire within the next few years are planning to move out of the state permanently for retirement.The interesting part about this research, as the Washington Post notes, is that most baby boomers don’t actually want to leave their homes in upstate NY. The disconnect between wanting to stay and planning to leave, the AARP theorizes, is that NYS is just too expensive to live in once a regular paycheck stops arriving. Over 50% of study participants (all participants 50+ years of age) expressed concern about being able to pay property taxes and utility bills after retiring, and over 33% of participants expressed concern about paying mortgages or monthly rents.
Participants did note that they tend to back political candidates who support policies that would increase financial security for retirees, and it appears that many baby boomers would seriously consider retiring in-state if politicians start making changes regarding home affordability and retirement fund security. It appears that baby boomers still have plenty of options available for financial funding. Many baby boomers still have control over their pensions and insurance policies, and annuities are still a potential way to ensure income during retirement, regardless of income (especially considering that about 80% of annuity owners earn less than $100,000 per year). Nevertheless, these workers clearly want to see political support directed toward retirees before making any decisions. AARP has noted that, unless state officials start changing policies regarding taxes and housing costs, the state’s economy will suffer quite a bit as more baby boomers choose to leave, rather than stick around and wait for changes to be made. |
