It seems the very things that helped define the Baby Boom generation are also working against its efforts to retire. Boomers are free-spirited, independent and active. They married later in life and had children even later.
As a result, they find themselves taking care of their ailing parents at the same time many are still taking care of their children. For many, the strains on their resources are proving to be yet another reason to delay retirement — thus, the name the “sandwich generation.”
“People who want to retire have to delay that,” says Lanta Evans-Motte, financial adviser at Raymond James in Beltsville, Md. “This is during the time when they are at peak earnings and can put away the most money. But it’s also when a lot of them are having to turn around and spend a lot of money and time taking care of their parents, their children and in some cases, their grandchildren.”