Stress Level of Retired Baby Boomers Increases as Income Declines

Money does not buy happiness, but many Baby Boomers are finding out that the lack of it doesn't have them jumping for joy either. The stress created by not knowing if their money will last through retirement is taking its toll. After working most of their lives to raise their families, put their children through school and save a nest egg for their retirement, many have been forced into early retirement and have become very discouraged. They are dipping into their savings sooner than they had planned, their houses aren't worth what they had expected them to be, and their investments are steadily declining in value.

Leading-edge baby boomers (a demographic term referring to individuals born between 1946 and 1955) are finding themselves depressed for the first time in their life. The fear of outliving their income is creating a level of anxiety that this generation is not accustomed to. For the generation touted as the wealthiest ever - a generation that believed it was going to be young forever - early retirement has changed from a dream to a nightmare.

Many of the leading-edge boomers, at the peak of their careers, began to lose their parents, watch their own health decline, and discover some of the inevitable signs of aging. Retirement appeared as an attractive alternative to the stressful workplace environment, where they were beginning to experience major changes in their employment contracts, unsettling downsizing and reorganizations, and age bias and discrimination. They were looking forward to the freedom they believed they would find in retirement.

When the real estate bubble burst, the stock market plummeted, and the unemployment rates began to climb, the prospects for a wealthy retirement disappeared for many members of the first graduating class of Baby Boomers. The changes and uncertainties of the last few years drastically affected the outlook of many of these folks. They started to feel cynical, betrayed and unhappy. Their morale declined, their motivation diminished, and their health began to fail.

Fortunately, their resilience and determination has enabled them to drive change to their advantage, rather than allow themselves to become victims of that change. Evidence of this is already showing up in the growth of small businesses in America.

According to a recent study by American Association for Retired Persons, four times as many individuals over 55 are self-employed compared to those under 55.

People in their mid-fifties and older realize that their choice is no longer to work or retire, it is to work and retire. They are looking forward to becoming entrepreneurs, working for themselves, enjoying flexible schedules, and having the income they were counting on to live the retirement lifestyle they had dreamed about. Their demand for opportunity will have a huge impact on the growth of small business.

Nowhere is that more evident than on the World Wide Web. The internet has become the fastest growing business platform in history. Driven by the pervasive broadband, open-source software, and inexpensive hardware, the internet is leading the way to the creation of entirely new types of companies, new business models, and a virtual universe of opportunities. With the ability to interact instantaneously with any of the more than 1 billion Web users across the globe, aspiring entrepreneurs are starting online businesses at a record pace.

One of the best ways to create a substantial retirement income, is to build an online business that will offer you the opportunity to control your time by working at home at your own pace to create the income you need to accomplish your goals. Go to our website http://Your Wealthy Retirement.com/ to learn how you can start your own profitable Internet Marketing business and create the cash flow you need to implement your plan to financial freedom.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=E._S._Morris

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