In generations passed, retirement meant living out the final third of your life in leisure. Retirees would play golf and go out with their friends, all while never even thinking about work. However, the baby boomers intend to change all that. As baby boomers grow nearer to retirement, the notion of retirement is about to change completely.
Merrill Lynch recently conducted a survey of their baby boomers and their findings were extremely interesting. Traditionally, since the creation of social security, workers would reach 65 and then retire to a life of leisure. Today however, baby boomers are thinking differently. With modern medicine, the life span has grown significantly. The average lifespan of someone who is 65 has increased by seven years. Instead of simply retiring, many baby boomers are planning on taking up a second career in this new space of time. 42% of baby boomers have expressed their ideal retirement to be a continuous rotation between work and leisure. While only 17% have stated that they want their retirement to be complete leisure.
Despite the increase in the cost of life (food, medical bills, housing, etc.) 67% baby boomers have stated that the need to work comes from wanting continuous mental stimulation and challenge to “stay in the game”. However, baby boomers biggest fear in regards to money is the cost of medical bills. The Merrill Lynch survey stated, “They are three times more worried about a major illness (48%), their ability to pay for healthcare (53%) or winding up in a nursing home (48%), than about dying (17%).”
Links:
http://seniorliving.about.com/od/retirement/a/newboomerretire.htm
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Business/story?id=1491624
http://lakeshoreli.wordpress.com/2007/10/31/senior-living-how-baby-boomers-will-change-retirement/
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