3 Unexpected Ways Boomers Are Losing Their Retirement Savings
Written by
Heather Altamirano
Edited by
Maria Concepcion
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The last and largest group of baby boomers are getting ready to exit the workforce. Born from 1959 to 1964, the 30.4 million “peak boomers” are rolling into their retirement years shortly, but according to The Peak 65 Economic Impact Study, many aren’t financially prepared.
“52.5% of peak boomers have assets of $250,000 or less and will rely primarily on Social Security as a source of income in retirement,” the study found. In addition, “14.6% of peak boomers have assets $500,000 or less and most will strain to meet their financial needs.”
But that’s not the only concern. Boomers are losing what savings they do have for alarming reasons. Older Americans are falling for the sophisticated criminal tactics scammers pull off to trick the elderly out of their life savings. People over the age of 60 lost more than $3.4 billion from last year, according to a recent FBI report, which showed, “an almost 11% increase in reported losses from 2022.” In addition, there was a 14% increase in complaints filed with the Internet Crime Complaint (IC3) by older victims.
Criminals are preying on boomers by targeting them on dating apps, social media, professional networking sites, or encrypted messaging applications, using fictitious identities to develop relationships with them. Still, once trust is built, they steal their money in a variety of ways. Here’s what to know.
Fake Tech Support Scams
The most common con to swindle boomers out of their savings is illegal call centers that pretend to be tech or customer service support or government impersonations, which are responsible for over $1.3 in losses, the report stated.
According to the report, “Complainants over the age of 60 lost more to these scams than all other age groups combined, and reportedly remortgaged/foreclosed homes, emptied retirement accounts, and borrowed from family and friends to cover losses in these scams. Some incidents have resulted in suicide because of shame or loss of sustainable income.”
Cryptocurrency
Some seniors gambled their savings on a return from investing in cryptocurrency, but instead lost their retirement nest eggs. In 2023, over 15,000 complaints to the IC3 were from people over the age of 60 that involved Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, or Ripple, and the losses totaled over $1.1 billion, per the report.
“Scammers convince targeted individuals to withdraw large sums of cash and deposit into cryptocurrency ATMs or kiosks at locations provided by the scammers,” the report stated. “Once cash is deposited and converted into cryptocurrency, the scammer transfers it to other cryptocurrency accounts. Over 2,000 complaints were filed by individuals over the age of 60 regarding the use of cryptocurrency ATMs and kiosks.”
Romance Catfish Cons
Lonely seniors are getting caught up in romance scams where the con artist takes on a fake identity and manipulates the individual out of big money-almost $357 million, per the report.
“The criminals will seem genuine, caring, and believable, with the intent to quickly establish a relationship and endear themselves to someone. They gain trust and eventually will ask for money. Scam artists often claim to be serving in the military or employed in a trade-based industry engaged in projects outside the U.S. This makes it easier to avoid meeting in person, and more plausible when they request money be sent overseas for a medical emergency or unexpected legal fee.”
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