The Guardian Life Insurance Company’s most recent study entitled Leading-Edge Boomers: Rethinking Retirement & Exploring Annuities has revealed that with only 6 to 15 years to go before retirement, 50 percent of leading edge boomers ages 50 to 59 who are not retired don't know how much they need to save for retirement. An even more startling statistic is that 60 percent of all leading-edge boomers said that they intend to save more than they do, but don't always get around to it. The survey included 1,019 U.S. Baby Boomers between the ages of 50 and 59. It was designed to understand their attitudes toward specific retirement/investment products and what motivates them to save and invest.

The study exemplified the fact that leading-edge boomers are being hit with many realities that are new to their generation. Not only are they living and working longer, but they are also more involved with caring for parents and children. Leading-edge boomers are finding it difficult to focus on their finances to figure out how much money they'll need for retirement.

Among those leading-edge boomers who are not retired, 69 percent are concerned about outliving their financial resources. Eighty percent are worried about having enough income during retirement and 15 percent of all leading-edge boomers say they don't have enough money to save or invest right now.

Many leading-edge boomers have no clue how to grow their retirement assets. Guardian found that 48 percent of boomers surveyed are unsure of the best choices for retirement savings and 41 percent felt that their retirement savings and investments are not properly diversified.

Many boomers still have negative feelings about the market downturn at the beginning of the century. Fifty-seven percent of leading-edge boomers are concerned that stock market volatility will continue to have a detrimental impact on their retirement income.

The study found that 86 percent of leading-edge boomers don't own annuities; 70 percent of those without an annuity say they have not considered buying an annuity, mostly because they don't know enough about them.

When asked what they thought about certain annuity product features, many boomers surveyed liked the concept of annuities. According to the study, 71 percent find the idea of a retirement vehicle that provides a steady stream of income once they retire to be very appealing. Sixty-nine percent find a vehicle that guarantees principal very appealing. The study also revealed that women boomers are more likely to view annuities as providing an income stream during retirement. However, even though men like the income that annuities provide, they are more likely to view annuities as a vehicle to provide for their dependents.

Among those that have annuities, both men and women like the guarantees that annuities offer, but when asked to rate the value of annuity characteristics women rated both steady stream of income and guarantees the principal higher than men. On the other hand, men rated death benefit and estate for heirs slightly higher than women.

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