If one thing has become glaringly evident in this long-runningelection season, it's the broad discontent among Americans abouttheir financial circumstances. The sentiment is notably strongamong those at greatest risk to the vicissitudes of the economy andthe markets because of their nearness to retirement — babyboomers.

According to a new study from the Insured Retirement Institute,“Boomer Expectations for Retirement,” a sixth annual update on thegroup's retirement preparedness, financial concerns among America's76-plus million boomers are significant and rising. The fragilityof their financial condition was apparent in a range of questionsposed by IRI, from whether they'll have to cover healthcareexpenses in retirement to their ability to provide for survivingfamily members after their passing.

The trend line is clear in a core measure of the survey:Economic satisfaction. As the study shows, this has dropped sharplysince 2014. This year, just 43% of boomers say they're happy withtheir lives from an economic vantage point, down from 65% in 2014and 77% in 2013.

A key reason for the precipitous dip: Fewer boomers areconfident in their future and ability to manage their finances.These drivers of economic satisfaction, the report notes, have“fallen almost continuously” since IRI's inaugural report on boomerretirement expectations in 2011.

The drop isn't limited to boomers. According to a recent IRIreport, just more than six in 10 (64%) of GenXers are content withtheir lot, down from 83% five years ago.

Conversely, a growing number of boomers are planning to retirelater. More than one in four boomers (26%) intend to leave theworkforce at age 70 or later, up from 17% in 2011. A larger group(33%) plans to retire between the ages of 65 and 69, up from the26% IRI reported in 2011 and 2012. Again, financial confidence — orlack thereof — underpins the trend.

“Confidence [among boomers] in having enough money to livecomfortably throughout retirement, that they are doing a good jobpreparing financially for retirement, and that they will haveenough money for health care expenses and long-term care, have allfallen,” the report stated. “These drops in confidence are likelydirectly related to a lack of planning and growing uncertaintyabout the future, as well as lower retirement savings and increasedconcern about retirement expenses.”

This concern is mirrored in boomers' reduced confidence relativeto prior years as to whether they:

• Will have enough money to last throughout retirement: (24% in2016 vs. 27% in 2015);
• Are doing well financially preparing for retirement (22% vs.25%);
• Will have enough money for healthcare expenses in retirement(27% vs. 28%); and
• Will have enough money to pay for long-term care expenses (16%vs. 19%).

Departing from the downward trend, a marginally higherpercentage of boomers surveyed this year said they will be “morefinancially secure” than their parents in retirement (37% in 2016vs. 36% in 2015). This year's result also matched that of 2011,though it is down from 2012 (41%).

How might they have better prepared for retirement? Most of theboomers polled in 2016 said they should have started saving earlier(64%). Likewise, a majority agreed that they should have saved more(62%), though fewer than one in five (17%) acknowledged they shouldhave maximized employer plan benefits.

In each of these areas, the help of a financial servicesprofessional could have made a difference. Yet just over a quarterof boomers (27%) sought the assistance of an adviser. Among thosedoing without one, fewer than four in 10 (39%) endeavored tocalculate how much they would need in retirement.

Rules of thumbs used for making such determinations (e.g.,saving 10% or 15% of one's income) often prove inadequate when awild card enters the mix: Out-of-pocket healthcare expenses inretirement. This number can vary widely, depending on theindividual's health status, insurance coverage and lifestyle.

A majority of boomers surveyed this year (51%) pegged the costof healthcare as a percentage of income at between 10% and 30%.This is down from 57% in 2015 and 60% in 2014.

Smaller percentages estimated the cost at 10% or less (30% in2016, down from 21% in 2015) or more than 30% of their income (19%in 2016 vs. 22% in 2015).

Whatever the actual price tag, a lot of the boomers polled couldhave a tough time meeting post-retirement healthcare expenses giventheir current financial difficulties.

“Most notably, 30% of boomers have stopped contributing to theirretirement accounts, have found it more difficult to pay mortgagesor rent, and have postponed plans to retire — all higher than inrecent years,” the report stated. “And almost twice as many havetaken premature withdrawals from retirement accounts.”

“While premature withdrawals are not as common as in 2011, thiswas trending down prior to spiking this year,” the report added.“With large numbers of working boomers so close to retirement, thisis a worrisome development.”

The survey also revealed that:

• Sixteen percent of boomers believe they will be able to pay forthe cost of long-term care, down from 24% in 2012.
• Only 55% of boomers have money saved for retirement, down from58% last year and from more than three in four in prior years.
• Boomers citing Social Security as a major source of retirementincome jumped to 59%, versus 42% five years ago.
• Only one in four boomers expect significant income from anemployer-provided pension. Those citing defined contribution plansas a major source of income dipped to 23% in 2016 from 34% in2014.
• Sixty percent of boomers believe their retirement income willcover basic expenses and some travel and leisure, yet only 55% haveretirement savings.

See the bar charts beginning on the next few pages foradditional highlights from the IRI study.

As this chart shows, moreboomers this year than in 2015 or 2014 envision Social Security asa major source of retirement income. Conversely, fewer of those whoIRI polled believe that defined contribution plans, employerpensions, individual retirement accounts or other personal assetswill serve as significant sources of income.

The study's authors describedboomers' estimates regarding total retirement income needs as“somewhat accurate.” More than six in 10 (64%) pegged the dollaramount at $35,000-plus. Actual average expenses in 2013 for theages 65 to 74 totaled $46,757.

As to leaving to an inheritancefor surviving family members, a sizable minority of boomers polledin 2016 (46%) said this is “very or somewhat important.” But thenumber has been declining. As recently as 2013, two-thirds ofboomers ranked bequest as a moderate to high priority.

Should their nest eggs run dry,a large majority of boomers (71%) said they would “downsize to liveon Social Security,” the same percentage as in 2015. Others wouldreturn to work, seek outside assistance or turn to familymembers.

Boomers stand a better chance ofavoiding these outcomes by working with a financial adviser. Asthis chart shows, more than nine in 10 of those surveyed between2013 and 2016 had retirement savings. This contrasted withdeclining percentages among those without an adviser: This year,just 42% could lay claim to a nest egg.