BlackRock's Larry Fink calls on baby boomer generation to fix 'retirement crisis'

financialpost.com:

BlackRock Inc. chief executive Larry Fink warned of a looming “retirement crisis” and called on baby boomers to help younger generations save enough for their own futures.

That, he said, will prevent them from becoming disillusioned with capitalism and politics in coming years.

With people living longer lives, but struggling to afford them and plan properly, Fink used his annual letter as chairman of the world’s largest asset manager to urge corporate leaders and politicians to pursue “an organized, high-level effort” to rethink the retirement system. More than half of BlackRock’s US$10 trillion of client assets are managed for retirement.

“It’s no wonder younger generations, millennials and gen Z, are so economically anxious,” Fink said in the letter to BlackRock investors Tuesday. “They believe my generation — the baby boomers — have focused on their own financial well-being to the detriment of who comes next. And in the case of retirement, they’re right.”

Young people “have lost trust in older generations,” Fink said. “The burden is on us to get it back. And maybe investing for their long-term goals, including retirement, isn’t such a bad place to begin.”

Fink said members of the boomer generation in positions of corporate leadership and politics have an obligation to help fix the system, and he questioned whether age 65 should still be the conventional notion of when people retire. Individuals are eligible for Social Security benefits as early as age 62, and those born after 1960 are considered at full retirement age at 67. Medicare health insurance coverage starts at 65.

“No one should have to work longer than they want to,” Fink said. “But I do think it’s a bit crazy that our anchor idea for the right retirement