Baby Boomers aren’t saving enough. According to the Ameriprise Financial study Across Generations II, only 27% of Baby Boomers say they are very confident that they will be able to continue their current lifestyles in retirement compared to 44% in 2007. How are they supposed to fund their retirement when health insurance premiums have increased and raises are stagnant? According to the Milliman Medical Index, employees have seen a yearly average increase in their medical premiums of 8-9%. In the past couple of years, what have wages done? Not much. Despite some recent good news from the Labor Department’s June job report showing an increase of 10 cents in the average hourly wage, it’s still challenging for many to get ahead. …read more
No one can deny the importance or the impact the Internet has made on the retailing industry. During 2012, the percent of consumers who clicked, surfed or shopped online increased approximately 15% compared to the previous year. Many consumers surf the web not to purchase merchandise but to search information. Retailers have long known the importance of segmenting their consumers based on age. Consumers in different age brackets shop differently, react differently to advertising messages, and desire different products and services. It makes sense that different generations will react differently to how product information is presented on the Internet. At Prosper Insights & Analytics, an annual Media Behavior & Influence survey included a total of 19,774 consumers in December 2012. Three consumer groups were then segmented: Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964 (N=6512), Generation X, born between 1965 and 1982 (N=6029) and Generation Y, born between 1983 and 1994 (N=4970). An additional 2263 Adult respondents represented the Traditionalist Generation, born prior to 1946. A map and directions will guide customers: We analyzed 13 categories that consumer would seek information online. 44.4% of Baby Boomers, 47.2% of Gen X and 44.9% of Gen Y accessed the Internet regularly to look at maps and directions. These figures lend support to the companies having a map and directions available on the Internet. Giving directions is comparable to giving customers your phone number. It is obvious; if customers don’t know how to get to your location, they will go somewhere else. The unfortunate part of this finding is that many companies on the Internet don’t include a map or directions. Why? It may be due to an additional cost or because they didn’t think about it. These findings demonstrate that customers think about it. Gen X and Y are passionate for clothing and shoes: Clothing and shoes retailers are always competing for consumer traffic, merchandise sales and consumer loyalty. When one day ends, the competition begins when the next day begins. Retailers try to capture consumers’ attention through branding, slogans, and sales. The Internet is a particularly good source for clothing and shoe retailers catering to Gen X and Gen Y. These two groups regularly surf the Internet for clothing and shoe information (35.8% and 44.1% respectively). 23.2% of Baby Boomers surf the Internet for information on clothing and shoes. In December, 2010, just three years prior, 39.1% of Gen Y said that they searched regularly for clothing and shoes on the net, while 31.4% of Gen X and only 19.4% of Boomers were searching regularly. This is a powerful trend that is going to continue to increase as consumers use the Internet to save time, money, gasoline, and capture new ideas more quickly, efficiently and effectively. The Internet is a valuable tool for explaining the benefits of the product. Retailers can insert statements to instill retailer loyal behavior. Retailers can highlight the store offering the products, discounts, and special offerings. Movie magic: The movies are big business; very big business. Prior to …read more
Want to know a deep dark secret? There’s some truth in the stereotypes about Gen Xers, Gen Yers and Baby Boomers and other emerging generations. That’s why they became stereotypes in the first place. Want to know another truth? Stereotyping people is a career- and leadership growth-killer. To thrive in today’s competitive world of work, individuals and organizations need all the help they can get. Be it out of the mouth of babes or ancient wisdom. French playwright Moliere said it best, “I take my good where I find it.” …read more
Jackson Supports National Retirement Planning Week April 8-12 to Promote Financial Education, Literacy Across the Country
Event is part of Jackson’s robust educational campaign, one of the company’s top priorities for 2013
LANSING, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Jackson National Life Insurance Company® (Jackson®), a leading provider of retirement solutions and educational resources for industry professionals and consumers, has joined the effort to support National Retirement Planning Week® April 8-12. The national campaign, led by Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) and the National Retirement Planning Coalition, a group of prominent education, consumer advocacy and financial services organizations, aims to educate Americans on retirement planning and financial literacy.
As a member of the IRI board of directors, Greg Cicotte, president of Jackson National Life Distributors LLC, the distribution arm of Jackson, will help to kick off National Retirement Planning Week by participating in a teleconference panel of industry professionals on Monday, April 8 at 10 a.m. Eastern time. The week’s theme — “Retire On Your Terms” — is designed to emphasize the idea that comprehensive financial plans need to be properly developed in order to plan for retirement. Throughout the week, the coalition and its supporters will release educational materials and encourage retirement planning through nationally distributed radio, television and print advertisements and a coordinated media outreach program.
“The coalition could not have chosen a more impactful theme for its annual National Retirement Planning Week,” said Cicotte. “‘Retire On Your Terms’ indicates that preparing for your financial future is in your control, and focuses on the importance of starting to plan now. Americans are not starting soon enough and not saving enough. We know the earlier they start planning for retirement, the better off they will be.”
The group wants consumers of all ages to realize they need to create a financial roadmap toward retirement. To support these educational efforts, the coalition has collected the latest resources to help consumers and financial professionals focus on long-term financial goals. These tools are available year-round at www.retireonyourterms.org.
“As 79 million Baby Boomers near and enter their retirement years, they will encounter a unique set of challenges unlike those any previous generation has faced,” said Cathy Weatherford, IRI president and chief executive officer. “These challenges — including changes in employee benefits, longer life spans, uncertainty with Social Security and Medicare, as well as rising cost of health care — have made preparing for retirement more difficult and could put their future financial security …read more
I have a unique perspective on Ford‘s upcoming 2015 model Mustang. As you can see from the personal photo below, I drive a mustang and I love it. On the other hand, I’m also a Ford investor and understand the need to make the next Mustang part of a global platform to expand sales. This design change will likely be the biggest challenge the Mustang has faced in its lifetime. It also faces another challenge – General Motors‘ Camaro. The Camaro has topped the Mustang the last three years in U.S. unit sales and sports a flashy redesign. Let’s look at these two issues and see what Ford has in mind for the secretive 2015 Mustang.
Photo credit: Author
Global or bust The driver in me cringes when I imagine the style change that the Mustang would need to attract a much different European consumer. It just wouldn’t be the same bold, iconic muscle car, because that strategy doesn’t work outside of the U.S. market. It would likely take the muscle car and make it smaller and more modern — the opposite of the retro look it has now. Ford also has to make sure its model isn’t too different so that it can take back the sales lead in the U.S. market from GM’s Camaro. If it goes with a more European style in its design, it risks losing even more ground. As an investor I cringe at the thought of alienating the cult following that the Mustang has had for decades.
I cringe even more at the idea of alienating both markets by creating something too big and inefficient for Europe, and too Euro-inspired for the U.S. market. Martin Smith, chief of Ford Europe design, admitted that the challenge represents a fine line to walk. “That is a really interesting challenge,” Smith said at the Geneva auto show. “What will emerge from that whole process is one of the best sports cars in the world and one that is still affordable.”
Evolution The current retro look is appealing to the Baby Boomers and the Generation X crowd, but the millennials have taken to it less enthusiastically. I guess that makes me an oddity, but that’s the market information Ford has collected and it has to act on it. If they ignore the millennial generation, they risk giving the Mustang a slow but sure death. The millennial generation will soon be the top-spending age group — the 2015 Mustang will have the difficult job of attracting all three generations with its design.
Speaking of evolution, this represents a drastic change in fuel efficiency expectations for the Mustang. My 2010 GT gets a meager 18-19 miles per gallon, which makes it difficult to attract a more fuel-conscious consumer — a trend that is quickly gaining momentum. Ford might be taking steps to resolve its Mustang fuel-efficiency problem with the rumor of an EcoBoost 2.7-liter, four-cylinder engine that …read more Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
It?s become accepted wisdom that the Boomer generation?s wretched excesses and the financial crises that followed have spoiled the financial and career prospects of the next generations, especially those born since the mid-to-late 1960s. Known variously as Generations X, Y, and Z?or Busters, Millennials and Digitals?these 20- to 40-somethings are said to be doomed to lives of under-achievement and financial uncertainty.
The Great Recession has taken its toll on everyone, but if I were advising an X, Y or Z, I would suggest that it may also have handed them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. What better time to get serious about saving for retirement or investing for the distant future than right after asset prices have been beaten down?
Has the American Dream really died, or is it possible that the inflated prosperity before the crash of the housing market was the aberration and now we are back to normal? Is it possible that the house that sold for a million in 2005 after a frenzied bidding war, but which no one wants today for half that, was never worth a million to begin with?
Instead of accepting the narrative that there is no hope and they should get used to it, I would advise Busters, Millennials and Digitals to double down on their futures. Not only is it not too late to save for the future, it may be the perfect moment to begin. That?s the lesson of history.
The argument for lowered expectations?a sick economy, bloated government, global economic storms, public disgust with Wall Street?will sound familiar to Boomers. The 1970s?when millions were graduating from high school and college and beginning their working careers?was defined by the Vietnam War, the Cold War, urban decay, rising crime rates, two oil shocks, crippling inflation, a deep recession, a go-nowhere stockmarket, crumbling auto and other manufacturing industries, official corruption at the highest levels, a bubble in markets for gold and art, inflated home values, and government deficits so onerous that the City of New York was at one point essentially bankrupt. This was the American Dream inherited by the Baby Boomers.
For those who lived through the 1970s, the future looked grim indeed?so grim that Business Week magazine ran a cover story in August 1979 entitled ?The Death of Equities.? The Dow Jones Industrial Average?the oldest and most commonly used marker for our relative financial health?had essentially gone nowhere for thirteen years. From a record high of 995 in 1966, when the Business Week article appeared, the Dow was treading water just below 900.
The writers argued that high inflation and Wall Street?s finagling and financial engineering of new, complex products had rendered stock investing irrelevant to the public. ?The U.S. economy probably has to regard the death of equities as a near-permanent condition?reversible some day, but not soon.?
Four years later, in December, 1982, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finally closed above the 1966 high and the reports of the death of equities turned out to be premature. With plenty of ups and downs along the way, …read more Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Markets
Michael Temchine/For The Washington Post via Getty Images Daniel Sherrett, 28, who returned home to live with his mother, Marie, and older brother Mark, 31, after completing his bachelor’s degree at the Culinary Institute of America, prepares dinner as part of his deal to live at home.
Between the growing number of adult children moving back in with their parents, and a growing population of senior citizens becoming financially dependent on their children, the Sandwich Generation can’t seem to catch a break.
Nearly half of all adults between the ages of 40-59 are giving financial support either to a parent over the age of 65 or to their offspring. Nearly one in seven adults are supporting both. So says a new study by Pew on the rising financial burdens of those adults — the generation that overlaps both the Baby Boomers and Generation X.
Multigenerational Impacts of Unemployment
The middle-aged Sandwich Generation has been hit especially hard by the recession and its aftermath. With unemployment still at 7.7 percent in February, and mass layoffs of nearly 135,000 in January alone, the long-term financial pressure is hitting those supporting multiple generations particularly hard.
Older parents may face forced retirement, and its sudden impacts. Parents of teens may face impending college expenses. Grown children with children of their own may suddenly face their own unemployment and be forced to move back home.
Although older workers were more likely to have held onto their jobs during the recession than their less experienced counterparts, workers over 50 who were laid off during the recession are finding it difficult to find new work. Too young to retire, this age group was recently called “the new unemployable” by the Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College.
Meanwhile, younger workers are less likely to be employed than they were just a few years ago, and those with jobs are earning lower wages, due in part to the competition from older, underemployed workers willing to work for less.
How to Navigate the New Terrain
Even though being financially sandwiched seems like being stuck in a vise that can only get tighter, with tax breaks and deductions for long-term care, retirement planning doesn’t have to be a pipe dream. If you find yourself in this situation, here’s some advice:
Don’t dip into savings: Sandwichers should avoid dipping into personal and retirement savings if possible. Instead, evaluate all options for both the care of parents and the well-being of children. Investigating long-term care insurance before it’s needed for aging parents, and knowing what expenses will have to be paid out-of-pocket might help make difficult decisions easier.
We are on the precipice of the greatest retirement crisis in the history of the world. In the decades to come, we will witness millions of elderly Americans, the Baby Boomers and others, slipping into poverty. Too frail to work, too poor to retire will become the “new normal” for many elderly Americans. …read more Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
What’s an indication the economy is back? Consumers are buying RVs again. Winnebago Industries (WGO) managed to make it through the Great Recession, gobbling up market share along the way. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) is now poised for triple digit earnings growth in 2013 as RV sales rebound. Winnebago’s brand recognition is so strong that when you think of RVs it’s the first name that comes to mind. Founded in 1958 in Iowa, Winnebago manufactures a variety of recreation vehicles (RVs) including motor homes, travel trailers and fifth wheel products. Given consolidation in the industry during the Great Recession, Winnebago was able to add to its market share and now has about 20% of the RVmarket. Motor home sales peaked in 2004 at 69,000 and plunged during the Great Recession. By 2011, only 25,000 motor homes were shipped. But that number is expected to slowly rise as the economy improves and the Baby Boomers age. The key segment of RV buyers is 55 to 64 years of age. The Baby Boomers are just on the cusp of reaching that age range right now with more to come in the next few years. That’s a built-in market for RVs. Additionally, the stockmarket has recovered its pre-recession highs and housing is starting to recover, both which will free up cash for Baby Boomers to take to the road. All of this adds up to good things for the RV manufacturers. The RV and manufactured home industry has a top Zacks Industry Rank of 9 out of 265 industries. Special Offer: What you don’t own is just as important as what investments you do own. Top investing experts named names when it comes to securities to avoid in the year ahead. Get the results in this free downloadable report, 24 Widely-Held Investments You Should Sell Now. On Dec. 20, Winnebago reported fiscal first quarter 2013 results and blew by the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 189%. Revenue surged 46.8% to $193.6 million in the 14-week quarter from $131.8 million in the 13-week quarter a year ago. Inventories at dealerships are low and demand is rising. The company has had to hire additional employees to meet production demands the last two quarters. It also warned that production would slow during the winter holidays due to employees taking time off. Given the grim years of the Great Recession, having too many orders is certainly a problem the company will gladly deal with. The tide is turning in the RV industry. Just 90 days ago, the analysts were not as bullish. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fiscal 2013 was just 47 cents. But given the big beat in the first quarter, the estimates surged to 80 cents. That is earnings growth of 220% as Winnebago earned just 25 cents in 2012. While the short term picture looks bright, the longer term outlook past 6 months is also strong for Winnebago. It has a Zacks Recommendation, which looks out further than the Zacks Rank, of …read more Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
With many Baby Boomers retiring and their medical needs increasing, the healthcare industry needs workers of all different backgrounds.Apply to US Healthworks and others
As each generation gets older they like to think that they are healthier than the previous generation, however, the baby boomers are now unable to confidently make this claim. The new findings were published in JAMA Internal Medicine, in a study conducted by a group of researchers from the West Virginia University School of Medicine… Source: FULL ARTICLE at Medical News Today
By Erik Carter, Contributor My last two posts discussed the financial challenges and opportunities facing the Millennial Generation and Generation X from our recent generational research report. While Baby Boomers are generally in better financial shape than their younger counterparts, many of their needs are more urgent due to their relatively short time horizon […] Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
