Baby Boomers Aren’t Going to Retire, According to New Zealand Survey

A very interesting article from New Zealand on Sunday by Steve Hart (September 26, 2009) Retirement Far From Boomer’s Minds contends that society’s premise built around the presumption that Boomers will cause an overload on the system and requirements for services as they retire at 65 isn’t necessarily true.  It points out that Boomers are different from other generations and consider the “new old” to be 81, not 65.  Based on a survey conducted by MBA student Sharon Buckland, her results show that the governmental plans hover around the notion that reaching age 65 means that Boomers will look to retire, thus burdening the state with the need for services.  But as Buckland points out, “. . . . baby boomers have never acted like their parents.  So why anyone would put in place a whole bunch of social planning that they were suddenly going to do so now is beyond my understanding.”  Her thesis is that the current thinking that Boomers will retire and create a “drain on the health system and nightmare for employers is all wrong.”

Buckland’s survey included 1162 boomers and provides an interesting contrast to the generally accepted thinking about our generation.  She notes that when Boomers entered the job market in the 1970′s there were such a large group of young people pushing for jobs, that the older generation eventually retired allowing access to the younger.  It’s probably important to note that at this time in history, 65 was the standard age of retirement and that economic forces afoot in the United States, at least, allowed the generation to retire without plunging into desperate poverty.    Today, she suggests that there are not many Gen Xers looking to push out the Boomers, and perhaps insulting to Gen Y, states they just don’t want to work.

So, she goes on to forecast that the “sky is not going to fall during the next 20 years” as many economic and governmental planners have feared.  Sadly for the financial industry, she warns that since Boomers aren’t interested in retiring, they aren’t interested in retirement planning so that that particular industry should take note.

Interestingly, she points out while Boomers reject retirement as a life goal, they don’t necessarily plan to do the same thing they have been doing for years.   The Boomers battle cry has always been that the generation is different and will do things their way, she notes that many Boomers plan to start something new, often including starting their own business.  Their skill sets are not as outdated as some have forewarned, and they have no intention of spending the next 20 years reading a book.

Buckland finds this a boon to Gen Y in that they will not have to support the Boomers as expected and accuses the recruiting/employment industries of maintaining and outdated prejudice that simply does not apply to the Boomer generation.  Boomers aren’t going away fast.  Here are some results pulled directly from her poll:

BABY BOOMER FACTS

* 75pc would not do a boring job even if the money was good.
* 80pc would rather be stressed at work than bored.
* 85pc have high expectations of their employers.
* 50pc would like extra pay.
* 52pc need to feel respected by their boss and colleagues.
* 85pc expect to get pleasure and fulfilment from their work.
* 78pc want opportunities to learn and develop.
* 66pc will spend the next five to 10 years excelling at their job.
* 21pc want to start a business.
* 83pc say work is important to their self-esteem.
* 93pc use a computer and are technically literate.
* 95pc feel they have made a meaningful contribution to their job.
* 91pc are worried about protecting their health over the next five to 10 years.
Sample: 1162 people
Source / Sharon Buckland

I find it fascinating to see trends in other countries mimicking ours and continuing to show that the Boomers are here to stay and thrive far beyond the societal “norms” that have been erroneously applied to the generation.