According to a CBC poll, ” 53 percent of boomers polled said they do not feel confident they’ll be able to afford a comfortable retirement. That’s up from 44 percent who were concerned about retirement finances in March.”

A significant event is occurring for one of the most significant generations in American history. We are in the process of witnessing baby boomers retiring. CBC News just released a new poll that stated, “A majority of baby boomers say they have taken a financial hit in the past three years and most now doubt that they will be financially secure after they retire, according to a new poll.”

Older workers typically begin to get serious about their retirement exit strategy during their final few years on the job. But the sooner you start, the more time you’ll have to explore your options and, if necessary, get your plans on track. Think of it as planning a long, expensive vacation for which every detail matters, rather than deciding at the last minute to take a weekend trip. “Deciding to retire without having substantially completed specific tasks can put a successful transition and a satisfying retirement at risk.”

Are you confused about how much you can take out of your nest egg without running out of cash? The bad news: you’re not alone. What constitutes a “sustainable” or “safe” withdrawal rate is the object of a lot of controversy in the financial-planning world these days. Many planners are persuaded by the research of CFP Bill Bengen, who has shown that a 3% to 4% withdrawal rate is safest.

You’re a confirmed do-it-yourselfer who built a sizable retirement fund by the dint of your own sweat and investment savvy. Or you’ve been with the same adviser decades, and have been pretty happy with the results. Or you simply haven’t thought about planning for retirement income; your whole focus has been on investing. Whatever your situation, you could benefit from a thoughtful, independent review of your retirement plan. Today’s distribution rules and strategies for retirement accounts are mind-numbingly complex. It’s easy to make a mistake, but often tough to fix those errors. Do-it-yourselfers often “don’t know what they don’t know.”

Boomers are expected to live longer than any other generation. At the same time, it’s no secret they haven’t saved nearly enough for retirement. Overall, the average retirement savings shortfall for married baby boomers is about $30,000, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Nearly half of early boomers, born between 1948 and 1954, and 44% of late boomers, born between 1955 and 1964, may not be able to afford even basic living expenses in retirement, according to EBRI. The result? Kids could be supporting mom and dad well into their eighties and nineties.

The notion that a failure to plan is nothing more than a plan to fail is one of the more heavily trafficked pieces of common sense, but it appears that the baby boomers are exempt from its wisdom. Instead, it will be their children who will be forced to cover the costs associated with their failure to prepare for retirement.

There was a colossal increase in the birth rate after the Second World War. These babies were dubbed the Baby Boomers and they are the babies born between around 1946 and 1960. This means that the first Baby Boomers became pensioners in 2011 at the age of 65.

It ought to be noticed that when the first Baby Boomers came of age, they created the changes in civil and human rights and discrimination associated with 1968. They also fashioned the Hippy Movement, Flower Power and the Sexual Revolution. So what will happen when they get to be pensioners?

The Baby Boomer generation is the richest generation ever, but they have never felt the drop in income, status, health and mobility associated with older age, so it is likely that there will be some sort of pensioners’ pressure group.

About 22% of the American population are Boomers, which means that there will be tens of millions of individuals retiring in the following ten years. This has a number of vital consequences. The first one is for health care; the mass retirement could or almost certainly will put the health care system under massive pressure.

The second one is employment. Because the Boomers’ generation is the largest section of society, when they retire, there will be a shortage of labour. After all, if the Boomer generation is the biggest portion of society, then by definition the following generation must be smaller.

These statistics are approximately the same for all Western countries and it almost certainly accounts for why there is a rush in Western countries to allow immigration. Firstly, immigrants will take up the slack in the workplace and second, their taxes will help pay for all the old Boomers.

So, hopefully, neither the state finances nor the Boomers’ health will suffer, but what other effects may this mass retirement have? Well, there could easily be a huge increase in demand for retirement homes both in one’s native country and abroad. Baby boomers are prolific travellers and many might want to retire to warmer countries or warmer parts of their country.

The southern states, provinces or counties of Western countries in the northern hemisphere and warmer countries in general, like Thailand, Spain and Italy could see a growth in retirement housing. The construction industry might get a much needed shot in the arm.

Most Western governments and many private construction companies already have plans and even dynamic projects to fulfill this requirement for retirement housing when it begins to kick in. If the Boomers make a mass migration out of the cities into the countryside or to the seaside, it could free up millions of inner city dwellings and at the same time create plenty of construction work outside the cities. But not only that, millions of additional jobs will be created in support and service staff positions.

The aging of the Baby boomers could be just the kick start that most deteriorating Western economies need to get back on their feet after the banking crisis of 2008-2010. Let’s hope so.

People regard retirement in different ways. Those who have saved or invested enough to be able to make the most of their retirement in style usually look forward to giving up the daily grind, whereas those who have not saved are usually not looking forward to it. However, there is another group of people who span both of these groups who do not want to retire either.

It is not because they do not have enough money, it is because they are frightened that they will not have enough to do. This is a real pity, but it is normally evidence of an over-concentration on one’s career and not enough other interests outside work.

Here are a couple of tips to help you prepare yourself to make the most of your retirement.

Do not regard retirement as the end of your useful life. Yes, it probably was for your father or grandfather, but it does not have to be for you because individuals live longer nowadays. Your grandfather almost certainly only had six or seven years after retirement, but you could have twenty or more. If you still want to work, you can, either for someone else or for yourself.

Broaden your circle of friends and interests or hobbies. Five to ten years before you retire, start an interest that has absolutely nothing to do with your career - archery, ballooning, deep sea fishing, marathon running, bridge or embroidery, anything, but be prepared to fill the gap that losing the nine to five will make.

Numerous retirees become far less lively than they were while working. This not good, so plan to take up a replacement activity like gardening, rambling, swimming, sailing or golfing. In fact, anything to keep those pounds from piling on just at the time of your life when they can do the most damage. If you do not like the idea of taking up an lively hobby, modify your diet and walk for thirty minutes each morning and every evening.

If you do not want to start a new job or a new business, consider donating some of your free time to a decent cause. You could visit the elderly or the lonely in hospital. You could visit lonely people in the community or you could teach computers or gardening to those who want to learn. Join the Women’s Institute, Victim Support, visit prisoners or help out at one of the local institutions.

Learn something new. Have you always wanted to be able to play the guitar, speak Spanish or use the Net? Well, now is your opportunity. There are normally day and night classes in these and other topics.

Travel more. All right, you may not have a lot of money, but you do have a bus pass (in many countries, anyway). You could plan a fortnight’s holiday using your bus pass for daily travel from guest house to guest house. You could write a book or simply read all those books that you have not had time to read over the last fifty years.

Incredible things have been promised by many websites and e-books regarding investment training strategies. One of the more common stock market trading strategies taught is to sell covered call options on stocks. These websites promise that you can earn up to 10% monthly returns using that very strategy. Sound good? Read on.

I will be the first to admit that selling out-of-the-money covered calls can bring lucrative monthly returns under the right circumstances. I have successfully used this very strategy. However, this strategy is not without its disadvantages. Website and e-book marketers of this strategy fail to educate you properly. They market this strategy as conservative with little risk. They also leave you hanging when it all goes wrong.

Selling out-of-the-money covered calls works when the stock market is going up in value. They also work when the stock market is neutral, meaning the market trades sideways with little swing up or down. I don’t know about you, but when was the last time the stock market traded sideways for any length of time?

We are currently in the midst of an extremely volatile market. The Dow frequently moves as much as 200 points either way in a single day. Hardly a profitable market for an out-of-the-money covered call writer. Your profits will start to evaporate once the stock you are holding starts to decline. I can assure you that profits can evaporate very quickly. I have seen the value of a stock drop from $10 to $1 over night! There is never enough premium on an option sale to cover that kind of decline.

You want the stock to get called, that is the key to out of the money covered call writing. Many so called experts do not want the stock to get called. They say you should keep the stock so you can continue to sell a covered call option on it in future months. This strategy is flawed. What you should do is select stocks that are moving up in value, in a rising market. Those stocks will make you the most money. I am happy when a stock gets called because I ended up making the profit that I expected.

What if the stock shoots way up in value? If the stock shoots up through the strike price and remains there at expiration, it simply gets called away. Isn’t that what you wanted to begin with? You may think you left money on the table by not being able to participate in those gains. If that upsets you then just buy the stock outright and don’t sell covered call options on that stock. Instead, let the stock get called away and take your profit for the month. Then look for another stock to buy and sell calls on for the next month.

Remember, selling out-of-the-money covered calls can provide an excellent source if income in a rising stock market. However, this strategy is less than ideal in a stock market like the one we find ourselves in today. There are, however, other strategies that will offer significant protection in a volatile or declining stock market.