If you’re remembering the 60s and 70s as times of discovery, rebellion, and tenacity then you’re probably a baby boomer (born between 1945 and 1964) and you already know that the boomer generation isn’t slipping quietly into their retirement years.
Boomers have started turning 65 and the old theory about people becoming disengaged as they get older is far from the reality for the ‘me’ generation. Gail Elliot, Assistant director at the Galbrea Centre for Studies in Aging at McMaster University, says that today’s seniors are very engaged in life.
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Although Stats Canada figures show that the large numbers of Canadians entering their senior years will add unprecedented pressure to social programs, health care and pensions, boomers are not retiring from the workforce as previously expected nor as their parents did. Research is showing that many boomers will be working well into their 70s and if retiring at 65 or younger, are embarking on new adventures. The daunting milestone that turning 65 once was, is no longer a negative one and if it’s significant at all, it’s signifying opportunity.
Living longer and living better
In a recent CBS News Report about boomers being the most recently targeted demographic for new products and services, Professor Joseph Coughlin, founder and Director of MIT’s AgeLab, states the obvious, we (Baby Boomers) are not the first generation to age but we are the first generation to expect more and to have it better. With the help of technology, we’re now living longer than our parents and we also want to live better. Corporate America is listening and getting ready for the time when one fifth of the population will be over 65
Boomers are the biggest target market
Products and services targeted to today’s seniors are hitting the market at an unprecedented rate. And the ads and slogans are appealing! While the target audience is baby boomers, they aren’t saying so out loud; would you buy the fully loaded luxury car if the advertisement read, “Hey old-timer! This is for you” I don’t think so. But you will take a second look at the car that will parallel park itself and sound a warning tone when you’re too close to an obstacle. Appliances easier to reach and operate are now sold with ‘universal design’, Tempurpedic adjustable beds sound fun and the advertisements look sexy, even Depends ads project vitality and an active lifestyle.
Marketers have developed a whole new language to sell products that appeals to aging boomers. We expect more and we’re getting more; we are seeing smart technology, smart homes, smart cars, in fact ‘smart’ is the new ‘young’ and I personally don’t see that as a bad thing.
A few interesting stats
• Between 1981 and 2009 the number of Canadians age 65 and up doubled and will double again by 2036 according to projections
• Between 2015 and 2021 we will see fewer children under age 15 than seniors, this is a first in Canadian history
• By 2036 approximately 10 million seniors will represent one quarter of Canada’s population, up from 15 percent today
What are the Baby Boomers doing now?
They appear to be:
• Scaling back hours at work and switching to part-time allowing more time for family, grandchildren, volunteering and travelling
• Consulting in the fields that they’ve spent their careers working at and learning about
• Starting over in new careers
• Becoming entrepreneurs
It seems that if they own a rocking chair at all, they are certainly not using it to retire like grandma did; they’re determined to do things a little differently.
By Alice Lucette
Image by lhumble on Stock.xchng
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