BILLINGS - While all generations have been affected by the recent economic crisis, some economists say the boomers are feeling the pinch the most. When the stock market fell many baby boomers saw the retirement nest egg's they've been nurturing for decades shatter.

Patti Hilsendeger said she's happy helping her husband run a used text book business, but doesn't think she'll ever see the day when they close up shop to live out their golden years.

"I don't foresee that I will ever retire especially with the way Social Security and Medicare are right now," she said. "It's real scary. We've been putting in all these years and I'm not sure it's gonna be there."

MSU-Billings Economist Scott Rickard said it's this uncertainty that scares people most. And boomers will have the least amount of time to recover. "If they're planning to retire at 65,they only have ten years to see their investments come back to the level they were," he said. Boomers are often caught in the middle as they pay for their parents' health care and help their children get started.

"Sometimes you feel like you're caught in between," Hilsendeger said, "But you do what you can. Family is what matters most." Like many boomers Patti said she's learning to live in tough economic times for the first time in her life.

"I was born in 1950," she said. "I've always known of things to be good and it's like we're tightening our belts."