Boomers have changed retirement
In 2001 the first wave of baby boomers turned 55 and began retiring. By 2011 even more Boomers were retiring, as they turned 65. Without realizing it, they were in the process of reinventing the concept of “retirement”. In January 1961, Arthur Godfrey created a new word by combining parts of two words: pro active + retirement, to create Protirement. He defined it as: “Early retirement from professional work with the positive idea of pursuing something more fulfilling.” Today, this is exactly what baby boomers are doing, except 60 per cent of boomers also intend to work, in some manner, as well as pursue other activities, after they turn 65.
Our generation has benefited from increased health promotion and health care. With robust pension plans, we can also retire at a younger age than our grandparents. We will live much longer that they did. It is highly likely that baby boomers will live an additional 20 or 30 years beyond retirement. It is possible that the third chapter of our lives could be as long as our working years. We could easily live a third of our lives in “retirement.”
Baby boomers are not ready to stop living. We have a strong desire to keep active, be productive, and stay engaged in life. Many boomers also have a need to continue earning money because they do not have sufficient savings to lead the lives they would like to have in retirement. The stock market crash of 2008 had a major impact on the retirement savings of many baby boomers.
Boomers were known for their experimentation, individualism, challenging of the norms, social cause orientation, and free spiritedness. They had such an impact on society that in 1966,
Time Magazine named the baby boom generation as the “Man of the Year.” This article is largely an excerpt from my book, Life 3.0, (to be published this fall) about baby boomers redefining retirement. Let me give you some context.
After interviewing 100 ‘retired’ people, from all walks of life, I found that boomers no longer see retirement as a destination. It has now become step one in a journey. I found that boomers are going through a three-stage change process, similar to William Bridges Transition Theory of Change. The first stage is the “Retirement Phase.” The second stage is the, “Transition Zone,” and the third stage is the, “Protirement Stage.” The Protirement Stage is where Boomers are pursuing fulfilling activities.
I identified 17 different Protirement activities Baby Boomers are embracing. I was intrigued to find that sixty percent of Baby Boomers are working during their Protirement. Four of the 17 Protirement Categories refer to different types of work. The remaining 13 Protirement Categories are non-income generating activities. These activities are shown in the following Protirement Checker board:
It is no wonder that baby bBoomers have chosen not to sit back and just accept past retirement practices. In the interviews I conducted, I found baby boomers consistently challenging old retirement practices for many reasons.
First, life spans for baby boomers have grown, thanks to significantly improved medical practices, health promotion campaigns, and healthy lifestyle choices. As a result, baby boomers can expect to live 20, 25, or 30 years beyond retirement. This is a long time to just sit around and “retire from life.”
Second, baby boomers dislike the stigma related to being “retired.” They feel as though people treat them differently once they know they’re retired. After they retire, the status and prestige related to their job quickly disappears. My interviews were filled with quotes about ageism and the stigma related to retirement.
Baby boomers see themselves as energetic, young, and engaged in life; just the opposite of what “retired” means. Numerous people have said, “75 is the new 65,” and the concept of ‘retirement’ is outdated.
Third, many baby boomers are concerned that their retirement savings will be insufficient. The economic crisis of 2008 had a significant negative impact on retirement savings for many boomers. Also, few retirement savings plans accounted for the fact that people would depend on their retirement savings for 30 years or more, or the potentially expensive nursing home and/or long term care arrangements.
Baby boomers clearly wanted to spend their retirement years as active individuals, and wanted to be respected and appreciated as people who have something to offer to others, no matter what their age.
Yes, baby boomers have changed how they retire, what they are doing, and how they are perceived in their later lives. After retirement, boomers want to live fulfilling, active, meaningful lives, in their Protirement.
Learn more about Protirement at a Niagara Workshop on Sept. 28 (www.myprotirementworkshops.com) Ellis Katsof is author of Life 3.0, and founder/CEO of MyProtirement, a business focused on helping Baby Boomers adapt to the new retirement, ”Protirement”. Retirement is no longer a destination; it is the first step in a transition toward “Protirement”, which is the pursuit of fulfilling activities in the third chapter of our lives.