Bear Market Mauls Older Investors

The bear market of the last three years has had a dramatic effect on older Americans, forcing many to cut their spending and others to come out of retirement to earn a paycheck, according to a new survey.

Three-quarters of the 50- to 70-year-old investors surveyed had lost money in the stock market, according to the survey released today by AARP, formerly known as the American Assn. of Retired Persons.

The majority of those surveyed said they had lost one-quarter or less of the value of their investments in the market downturn -- considerably better than the performance of benchmark stock indexes such as the Standard & Poor’s 500, which is down 40% from its March 2000 peak.

Still, about 18% of respondents said the value of their investments had plunged by 50% or more.

Survey respondents said they are reacting to the market losses by either spending less or working longer. Specifically:

* 59% will budget more carefully.

* 34% will take fewer vacations.

* 30% postponed major purchases.

* 20% delayed retirement.

* 3% of retirees went back to work after the market started to slide in March 2000.

* 12% of current retirees think they may have to go back to work at some point in the future.

Notably, about one-third of the respondents who described themselves as retired were still working either full or part time, according to AARP.

The survey, which sampled 1,013 individuals over the phone, was conducted in November and early December by International Communications Research. It has a sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.