"The money issue was real simple: a whole lot came in and a whole lot came out, and retirement was kind of secondary," Lawton said. "It's really easy when you're raising a family, particularly in a big city-boy, it's easy to spend a lot of money."
In order to afford the lifestyle of their choosing, many baby boomers said they'll push back retirement, according to the survey. Some boomers may work until past their 70th birthday, Stewart said.
Others may save more, adjust portfolio allocations and seek help from a financial adviser to help ensure they can maintain their previous lifestyle after they retire.
Traditionally, people approaching retirement have been net savers, as compared with younger generations, who are net consumers, Stewart said.
But as baby boomers reached middle age, there was not much of a shift in spending behavior. Rather, boomers stayed in the net consumer phase rather than moving to the saver phase, he said.
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