Financially Strong
As the Baby Boomers like me are retiring and getting ready to retire, they will spend whatever it takes – and they’re the wealthiest generation in our country – to make themselves live an enjoyable life in their retirement years. – David Rubenstein –
Financially strong, more than three-fourths of America’s wealth is controlled by the Baby Boomers. (ICSC) They have a net worth 3 times the younger generations. (Economic Policy Institute) The median household income is 55% greater than their parents and their annual income is $2.4 trillion. (U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey)
The Baby Boomer’s motto “live to work” continues into their next phase of life. The motive behind doing – some work – after retirement is for the “stimulation and satisfaction, not the money” according to the Merrill Lynch 2013 Survey.
It is projected Boomers will make up 25.6% of the labor force in 2022 versus 20.9% in 2012. (Bureau of labor Statistics Report) These confident men and women have decades of experience, assets and self-motivation to embark on a new career or start a business. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, this generation is the largest group of entrepreneurs.
The Boomers have accumulated a life time of savings and assets, continue working and spending. They are internet- savvy, engage in social media and own smartphones. This lavish generation annually spends an estimated $400 billion on consumer goods and services and is the largest consumer group in the U.S. (U.S Government Consumer Expenditure Survey)
Health Conscious
…as Baby Boomers start the aging process, we will do it differently than our parents and quite likely with more education and better health and financial resources. – Linda Fodrini-johnson, MA, MFT, CMC, Founder of Eldercare –
The Baby Boomer men and women realize health problems can severely disrupt retirement timing, lifestyles, and financial security and are committed to a healthy lifestyle. These individuals are pro-active on preventive healthcare as they want to enjoy a high quality of life, physically and mentally, throughout their later years. They value preserving their “youthful” appearance and are coined “Generation Ageless” by Correspondent Tom Brokaw. (Brokaw, 2010)
During the next decade, the Baby Boomers in the United States will increase spending on wellness-based services from $200 million to $1 trillion. (Paul Zane Pilzer, the Next Trillion) A majority of the adults over 50 research health and wellness information online. (Pew and American Life Project) Reports from The International Healthy, Racquet & Sports Club Association show Boomers represent one-fourth of gym memberships. (IBISWorld) Other powerful incentives for Boomers to strive for optimized health include: health Insurance companies reward healthy policyholders, rising medical costs and caring for family members.
Family
There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age. – Sophia Loren –
During the ‘80s, Boomers caring for both adult children and aging parents were called the “Sandwich Generation” as they were in between two generations – past and future. Today, due to economic difficulties, Boomers are providing financial assistances to multiple family members. Statistics show 52% provide financial support to adult children, 16% to aging parents or in-laws, 35% give funds for grandchildren and 10% to siblings. (Sandra Block, 2013) Today the Sandwich Generation is coined a “family cube” with support extending side to side as well as up and down. Multigenerational households have doubled since 1980 to more than one in five households (Merrill Lynch Report, 2013). These caring individuals desire to benefit their family members and many provide unpaid labor hours to their grandchildren while the parents are at work.
Fulfillment & Purpose
Unlike previous generations, Boomers have the freedom and the resources to contemplate not just survival, but fulfillment. – Steve Gillon, author of Boomer Nation –
Today’s men and women over 50, are moving forward exploring new options, pursuing unfilled dreams and striving to live life to the fullest. They desire to make a difference in their communities, connect with friends and assist family members. A fulfilling life includes relationships, serving others and learning.
Despite many Boomer men and women assuming a large responsibility caring for family members financially and physically, a significant number retire alone. Nearly one-third of the younger Boomers are single. (U.S. Census) For the past 20 years, the divorce rates have more than doubled for individuals over 50. (National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green University) The Boomers are open to dating and the online dating services are rapidly creating sites targeting them. These lonely men and women are the fastest growing segment of the $2.1 billion dating industry. (IBISWorld) Another source of social connection for the Boomers is through volunteering.
American Boomers are volunteering more than ever. Approximately one-third volunteer their time to a local organization, which is a ten-year high, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. They are educated, skilled, experienced and dedicated which charities value. Evidence has suggested that volunteering boosts one’s sense of purpose, which correlates with lower risks of poor health and strengthens social ties.
All the volunteer programs make us feel good about the company while feeling great about ourselves,
says volunteer Joan Lowry, a 30-year Prudential veteran.
Along with volunteering, the Boomers are life-long learners. Colleges and universities are designing programs specific for them.
Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young. (Henry Ford)
The Baby Boomers are financially strong, intelligent, educated and a lucrative market to industries such as: health, fitness, dating, education and coaching.
Holistic Coaching Benefits Baby Boomers
As Boomers move into the Fall and winter of their lives, they transition from more absolute to more relative thinkers, making their view of the world much more holistic and experiential. – David Weigelt, author of Dot Boom –
AARP launched www.LifeReimagined.org to serve 50+ demographics offering goal setting in health, relationships and careers. The Third Age website www.thirdagecenter.com trains coaches as well as provides coaching services to Boomers based on William Sadler’s book The Third Age: 6 Principles of Growth and Renewal After Forty. Other niche opportunities for Boomer coaching are: business, career, dating, health, holistic, life, relationship retirement, transformation and transition coaching.
Retirement can be the best or worse time in one’s life. This generation simultaneously faces more major life situations than any other generation. They need someone to strategize and bounce ideas off, set goals, create structure, receive positive support, and they are hiring coaches to help ease the transition.
Influenced by the humanistic and transpersonal approaches of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, as well as by the positive psychology of Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, coaching aims to help functioning adults become happier and more productive ASAP. (Patricia Marx, 2012)
Baby Boomers recognize coaching shortens the learning curve in achieving their goals. They understand the benefits obtained and the value of one-on-one coaching. The Boomers seek Holistic Coaching which encompasses the whole picture in their current lives. They want to move forward with clarity, understanding and balance when creating their action plans for living fulfilled and meaningful lives. Holistic is defined as:
relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts. (Oxford Dictionary)
Holistic Coaching facilitates transformation in an individual’s personal and professional life to become and live the life they desire and dream, based on the belief that all aspects in an individual’s life are relevant to the wholeness of the individual: physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, social and relational. People are unique, independent, responsible individuals with desires, dreams, purpose and potential to achieve great things. Holistic Coaching benefits the individual approaching the retirement years in the planning and executing an action plan that support their “best years.”
Conclusion
You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old. – George Burns –
Aging is not optional; the journey begins upon birth and continues throughout life. How does a person successfully transition through the stages of aging while continually reaching their life goals? The challenge involves understanding each phase and implementing changes to obtain and maintain a quality lifestyle in health, finances and social interaction which the Boomers are facing head on. They are not slowing down as they enter the retirement years; rather they are redefining the term retirement.
Today 78+ million Baby Boomers have reached the traditional retirement age of 65 and the number continues to grow at a rapid rate. They have the largest discretionary income, are powerful and influential consumers, health conscious, financially provide for family, caregivers to parents/adult children and grandchildren, date, volunteer and continue learning. This generation is intelligent, pro-active, mover and shaker, fearless, financially sound and determined to live the life they desire. They are a massive, powerful group that significantly impact America demographically, culturally and socially. For the encore of their lives, Boomer men & women want to make a major contribution to society leaving future generations a legacy of values and life lessons.
Boomers experience numerous concurrent life events like no other generation before. They recognize the value and benefits Holistic Coaching offers them. Holistic Coaching assists the Baby Boomer in bringing healthy balance to the whole individual in all areas affecting their lives. The possibilities are vast such as new ideas, careers, relationships, income and living life to the fullest. One thing is for certain; the Baby Boomer will be changing, growing, staying young and living their passions…the Boomer way!
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