Title: Why Baby Boomers’ Retirement Is Something We Should Be Talking About
Medium: Sound
Nut Graph:
Baby boomers’ retirement is one of the country’s biggest issues affecting Americans, 76 million in fact and it has been 70 years in the making. Every day 10,000 baby boomers hit the typical retirement age of 65 and this expected to go out until 2030. Most will depend on Social Security as their primary source of retirement income. For many, the new retirement plan is a form of working until you pass away. More than one-third of Americans report having less than $1,000 stashed away for retirement.
78 % have less than $100,000 saved for retirement.
52 % have less than $10,000 saved for retirement.
59% relying heavily on Social Security
45% have no retirement savings
^^percentage data coming from the Insured Retirement Institute.
I want my story to explain more about this crisis and why it is important, and how it could affect millennials in any way.
Sources:
- Kevin Poznek – manager of life insurance
- Ms. Sharon Little Page – resident in nursing home, Legends Katy
- Tony Sax – manager of life insurance
- Lee Rivas – administrator of nursing home
Questions to be asked to insurance salesman:
- How has this affected the way you sell insurance?
- How often do you come across people still trying to work over 65?
- What do you think the future holds for millennials?
- what percentage of seniors are in need of coverage for final expense insurance
Questions to ask Ms. Sharon Little Page:
- You are a baby boomer. How were your retirement plans affected?
- What was your retirement process like?
- When did you stop working?
Questions to ask Lee Rivas:
- When residents are taken into your nursing home, how many of those residents are solely using social security benefits?
- How many are coming in as baby boomers?
- How have you seen the your business change because of this crisis?
- Do you ever have residents that cannot afford to live there anymore? What is that like?
Articles that I have found to be helpful:
http://www.mybudget360.com/looming-retirement-crisis-baby-boomer-hit-retirement-age-per-day
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article85981067.html
November 29, 2016 at 6:18 pm
All of the data and info that you give in the paragraph labelled “nutgraph” need to be attributed. What organization or state department is giving this info?
“For many, the new retirement plan is a form of working until you pass away. ” It is unclear what you are trying to say in this sentence. Are you saying that many baby boomers work until their death and financially are unable to actually go into retirement? If so the sentence needs to be reworded to clearly demonstrate that. Also, you cannot just make this claim without factual support. Some number showing that many baby boomers are infact working past 65. Also in journalism we don’t use euphemisms so you want to say “working until you die.” instead of “working until you pass away”.
I think you should absolutely use the old lady as the subject of your story. After youinterview her use her in your lede. Make it a focus-on -a-person type lede. Something like ” Sharon Little Page is 73 years old. She was born in 19## and like 76 million Americans, she is a baby boomer. Sharon currently lives in a nursing home and she says the road to retirement was rough. Her story echoes the same for many baby boomers.”
This puts a face to a big issue and gives your readers a reason to care.
November 30, 2016 at 3:47 pm
Good comments, Rosemond, and an additional abservation: A 73-year-old person is not a baby boomer: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/25/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers/
Raffi, I know that you have had limited journalism instruction, so be sure that your reporting is solid. Are you accurately defining baby boomer and do the people you are including in this story as representatives of the baby boomer generation fit the bill? Sharon Little Page doesn’t fit the bill.
Be sure to attribute the information you report (i.e. be clear about your sources. You do this by writing: “xxxxx,” according to the Pew Research Center. “xxxxx,” so and so said (not with footnotes, for example).
November 30, 2016 at 8:52 pm
Thanks for the comments Rosemund. That helps a ton.
No, Little Page is not 73 haha, I think that was Rosemund’s example. She’s like 66. I’ll be sure when I talk to her.
And yes, I will define where I am getting my information from and my sources when I talk, since I’m doing sound.
Thanks for all the help 🙂