As the first group of Baby Boomers gets close to retirement age, they are starting to realise that, unlike their parents, they have a lot of choices. Here are some of the choices Baby boomers are making about how to spend their retirement.
They keep working long after they should have stopped.
Before the Baby Boomers, people stopped working at 62, 65, or sometimes 67. They got their pensions and Social Security checks, and soon they sold their homes and moved in with their grown children, where they stayed until they died. But not the Baby boomers of today!
It's almost as if they're all saying, "What, retire? Instead of closing up shop, they choose to keep working, sometimes full time and sometimes part time. Sometimes they have to, but most of the time it's because they enjoy what they do. This group is choosing to put off retirement as their Baby Boomer retirement choice.
They're doing it for free.
Volunteering is another popular way for Baby Boomers to spend their retirement. Baby boomers are ready to give back, almost as if they want to make up for a lifetime of putting "me first." And they give back in a lot of different ways. They are taking in foster children and teaching new business owners what they know about running a business. They help charities like the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and the Peace Corps with their time. They help out at schools, hospitals, and senior centres as volunteers. They also give talks at colleges.
They are putting health first.
Long gone are the days when Baby Boomers worked 80-hour weeks, tried drugs that changed their minds, ate too much, drank too much, and smoked too much, among other bad habits. Many Baby boomers are using their retirement to focus on their health. Baby boomers go to the gym, ride bikes, swim, dance, hike, and canoe. They also play tennis and golf. They do pretty much whatever they can (and what they like to do) to keep moving. They're giving up bad habits and eating healthy food, and as a result, many of them are living longer.
They're going on more trips.
Senior travel is doing very well as it tries to keep up with another popular way for Baby Boomers to spend their retirement. More Baby boomers believe that "You can't take it with you!" because they no longer feel the need to plan for the future of their children. They're talking about the money they've saved up over the years they've worked, and they're not having any trouble spending it. They are going to places they have never been before and going back to places they like. Baby boomers are enjoying their trips, whether it's a weekend trip or a two-month break, alone or with friends or family.
They will leave with a bang.
If there's one thing you can be sure of, it's that the Baby boomers will not fade away quietly. Like everything else they've done in their long lives, the ways Baby Boomers choose to spend their retirement won't be what most people do.
