Early Retirement

New York Times - An Alternative to Annuities for Retirees Seeking Income

When they were young, members of the baby boom generation did not do things the way their parents did. But now, as they start to retire, some may wish they could retire the way their parents did.

For starters, the 78.2 million baby boomers, born from 1946 to 1964, are far less likely to have traditional pension plans paying lifetime benefits. And many older and mid-generation baby boomers have slim personal savings because they failed to catch on fast enough to the 401(k) defined-contribution plans their employers introduced in the early 1980s. With greater longevity, exploding health care costs and global market volatility, baby boomers risk outliving their assets.