I recently returned
from attending the Joint Conference of the American Society
on Aging and the National Council on Aging in San Francisco.
More than 4,000 professionals in the health and long-term
care fields, social services, educational and research institutions,
government and the aging network were there.
It was one of the most exhilarating
conferences I’ve ever attended because despite the
many problems presented by an aging population, it was exciting
and encouraging to know that so many experts recognize the
lifestyle revolution that is occurring and they are bringing
compassion, humor, innovation, determination and vision
to some groundbreaking solutions.
The longevity revolution
has added bonus years to our life span. In 1900, the life
expectancy of women was 47 years. The fear used to be dying
too young. Now the fear is of living too long, outliving
your health or money.
At present, one baby boomer
turns 50 every 7.6 seconds and the census bureau predicts
that during the next 30 years, citizens over 65 will more
than double and the 85 and over group will increase from
14.3 million to 77.2 million, or 5 times as many. So, make
no mistake, the Baby Boomers are going to revolutionize
retirement as we know it. In fact, they are already doing
so.
In sheer numbers alone, there
will be unprecedented demands on medical care, social services
and housing.
Prior to the advent of Social
Security, seniors usually continued to do what they had
always done but gradually just doing less and then, they
died.
In fact, throughout history,
most people didn’t age, they died. There were no early
bird specials or senior cruise lines catering to the elderly.
The whole concept of retirement, made possible by a government
subsidy, came about because there were too many young workers
without jobs and the government needed to encourage older
workers to leave.
Roosevelt introduced the Social
Security system and retirement became an entitlement. The
concept was that after working hard for many years, you
had a few years to relax and do nothing, before exiting
the planet.
With medical science and public
health adding nearly 30 years to the average American life
span, retirees want to add life to those years and they
view the second phase of their lives, very differently.
This group no longer sees retirement as a time for greater
leisure and disengagement but as a time for renewed social
contribution and personal growth.
Many want to continue to do
meaningful work and although the boomers control more than
50 percent of discretionary spending and are the most highly
educated retirees to date, many will need to continue to
work because they have not been "savers."
They are concerned about the
future; their jobs have not always been secure so some of
them have already become entrepreneurs. They are more open
sexually, more demanding of choices.
The workforce will become
more multi-generational as we will need to recruit workers
over 55, just to maintain current productivity. Younger
workers are also questioning whether life should be like
an Everest climb, working furiously to a peak of 65 and
then all downhill. They are thinking about interspacing
leisure instead of having it all at the end.
This generation is also among
the first of women who succeeded in traditionally male occupations
and have defined themselves by their jobs as much as by
their families. Of course, the entry of women into the workforce
changed everything.
Just as child care was a major
issue to be solved 20 years ago (and I’m not sure
it has been completely or successfully solved) elder care
is the new social challenge as women are no longer available
to fill the role of caring for elderly relatives.
What does all this mean in
terms of the marketplace? There will be a new emphasis on
homes built specifically to suit the changing needs of the
elderly, the remodeling of existing homes, the emergence
of more active retirement communities, a push for more and
better public transportation, technology to reduce medical
costs and supply more and less expensive drugs.
We can also expect to see
a continuance of the dramatic increase in plastic surgery
and physical fitness facilities so that individuals can
appear as young as they feel because age is no longer a
number but about energy and vitality.
Jean Cherni
is founder of Senior Living Solutions, a retirement advisory
service. Contact her at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or
15 The Ponds, Branford 06405. H. Pearce Company REALTORS®
is a full-service real estate company with more than 100
agents and branch offices in greater New Haven and the Shoreline.
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