Aging of the Baby-boomers
- Back When--The trend originated 10 years ago as the boomers edged over the age-50 threshold--that magic age when people give keen focus to retirement planning.
- Then--Age 60 was now in the sights of the boomers. Pensions first slowly, and then quickly disappeared or became a much smaller portion of people's retirement plans in the last several years.
- Now--Chances are the retirement plans of the boomers are in need of major adjustment after the freefall in the stock market last fall. The boomer generation has openly embraced investment in equity-type investments, though I am not sure that planning and monitoring have played a large enough role.
- Back When--The aging of the "greatest generation" and their general inclination toward saving has set up the potential largest transference of wealth from one generation to the next as the older generation begins to pass on.
- Then--The pervasiveness of estate planning has solved many of the issues of this wealth transference, though under current estate law, planning for wealth transference continues to be a moving target. The thresholds for estate exemption have continued to grow and are set to expire next year. This constant expansion makes it difficult to plan for wealth transference.
- Now--Because estate law is a legislative hot topic, expect the laws to change once again. There has recently been lively debate in Congress about this issue. The most recent proposal raises the estate tax exemption, lowers the actual tax, and unifies the credits allowed between husband and wife. Whatever is decided upon, it looks as though simple wills and living trust estate planning will solve many of the estate considerations for the mass affluent.
- Back When--Hopes were high as former eastern bloc nations were thawed to democracy and opened up as new potential capital markets. Eastern Europe was flooded with venture capital and these economies were set for a boom.
- Then--Questions arose based upon how the developed world would respond to global terrorism. Would the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan encourage democracy across the Middle East? The rise of the Chinese and Indian economies have led the emerging markets of Asia
- Now--China and India (as well as Brasil) have made emerging market a viable alternative to hedge risk brought on by the developed world. These economies have not been hit as hard as the US and Europe in the crisis, and have bounced back quicker as well. Russia (the last of the BRIC nations to be mentioned) has turned politically beligerent in the past few years. This has thrown economic questions up in the air for that region, as the price of oil continues to be the main economic driver for Moscow.
