The Press Release Parade Marches On. Today leading the band is a PR firm representing Kiplinger:
Hi Chuck,
Every day, about 8,000 baby-boomers celebrate their 65th birthday. That’s the traditional age for retirement, but the generation that lived through Woodstock, Watergate and 12% mortgage rates has a history of breaking the rules. Kiplinger outlines eight ways baby-boomers are reinventing retirement…
Let’s go through most of these eight ways Baby Boomers are reinventing retirement:
Kiplinger: More career second acts—about 70% of pre-retirees expect to do some work during their retirement years and more than half of those want to launch a new career. Nearly half say “stimulation and satisfaction” are the main reasons they want to work in retirement.
From my book © 2005, 2007: Contrary to popular myth, Baby Boomers do not believe that they are still teenagers or young adults. (Some probably do, but they need therapy.) Boomers are slyly redefining what it means to be the ages they are. Included in this new definition are some youthful attitudes - but the real change is that instead of winding down, many are winding up. We're not 'looking forward to retirement,' we're looking forward to new lives, new challenges. Only a small percentage will opt for pure retirement. (I predict that in twenty years the word 'retirement' will still be in dictionaries, but followed by the modifier archaic.)
Post from 2007: Time to Retire the 'R' Word
Kiplinger: Rising entrepreneurship—in 2011, individuals ages 55 to 64 accounted for nearly 21% of new entrepreneurs, up from 14.3% in 1996.
From my book: Advertising to Baby Boomers is also for anybody with a marketing or product idea yet to be realized or about to come to market. Venture capitalists take heed: the largest demographic of entrepreneurs are over forty, the largest consumer demographic the same.
Posts from 2003-2013: Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers
Kiplinger: Helping family financially—despite worries about their own retirement security, boomers are writing checks for family members on both sides of the generational divide. About 52% are providing their children with financial support and 16% are helping their parents or in-laws.
If Wikipedia has a page about this, you know it’s old news: Sandwich Generation.
And there’s this: The Daughter Trap by Laurel Kennedy.
Kiplinger: A rise in volunteering—about one-third of adults age 55 and older volunteer their time for various causes. And volunteer organizations are eager to enlist boomers as they have more education than previous retirees and bring skills and life experiences that charities value.
Sounds familiar:
11 February 2008
Me vs. We
22 October 2009
Me vs. We Redux Redux
17 March 2011
The Crystal Ball of Common Sense Returns
Boomers volunteer at the highest rate of any generational group…About 33 percent of all boomers those born between 1946 and 1964 volunteer on a regular basis, the highest rate of any generational group and four percentage points above the national average of 28.8 percent…
Kiplinger: Numerous studies have shown that most boomers want to remain in their homes as long as possible, but often it’s not realistic to stay in a four-bedroom, two-car-garage home. One solution: cohousing, featuring condos clustered around a central courtyard or home improvements that make the house more age-appropriate.
Post from 2007: Neighborhood Design, Universal Design
Cohousing communities aren't cookie-cutter projects. Each is unique. Prospective residents are intimately involved in the planning, though they may rely on an architect and developer to handle the technical aspects of design and construction. Projects usually consist of 20 to 30 households … The latest twist to the nascent trend is cohousing exclusively for people 55 and older.
News article, 2008: Communes for grownups --Co-housing for Boomers a growing trend
And all of these: Aging In Place & Universal Design
Kiplinger: Going back to school—across the US, colleges and universities are designing programs for boomers who want to learn new skills…Community colleges are also reaching out to boomers who want to update their job skills.
Post from 2005: Baby Boomers, Adult Communities, and Education
From 2009: Academic Research on Boomers & Lifelong Learning
More from the PR email:
… I look forward to your interest in speaking with a Kiplinger’s editor.
Best,
J***
Hmmm. Maybe a Kiplinger’s editor should’ve spoken to me. Or to Brent Green or Marti Barletta or Todd Harff or Matt Thornhill. Eight years ago.
