A new survey from FeeX, a company that connects users with lower investment fees, showed some Baby Boomers are betting heavily on the stock market for their retirement savings. FeeX surveyed people between the ages of 60 and 65 and found 30 percent have invested all or almost all of their savings in stocks, and 52 percent have more than 70 percent of their retirement savings in stocks. This is a strategy that is extremely risky for people nearing retirement age, according to CNN Money.
Instead of this high-stock mix, most financial planners say people close to retirement shouldn't put more than 60 percent of their savings in stocks, instead favoring bonds and money market funds.
The current decline in the stock market makes this advice even more relevant, as people could see losses that will directly impact their quality of life in retirement.
"If you're a couple of years away from retirement, you're really rolling the dice," Erik Laurence, vice president of marketing and business development at FeeX, told CNN Money of a retirement strategy that depends heavily on stocks.
Credit union leaders should ensure their members planning for retirement understand what the ideal mix of stocks and other assets is.