Is Life Over for Baby Boomers?

Of course NOT!  But everyone seems to think we’re OLD and all we’re interested in is retirement — everyday I scour the internet for interesting information I think you might like to see (which I tweet) and it’s hard to find anything except stuff on finance, the healthcare law, and retirement.  That’s a big reason I started this blog — to share all the great things happening in the lives of baby boomers.

Baby Boomers Aren’t Old

Despite what the media says, baby boomers aren’t old.  Officially, baby boomers include folks born between 1946 and 1964.  That means we range from 47 – 65 which means only a few of us are retirement age and most of us are still very young, vibrant folks (with huge disposable income as we’re at the top pay scales in our companies and most of us are empty nesters or close to it).

Baby boomers are over 27% of the US population and, with a life expectancy of up to 90 years old — many of us are barely past middle age.

And, while there’s some evidence we’re more conservative than we were in the ’70s days of sit-ins, marijuana, and free love, we’re not going to take up listening to Lawrence Welk any time soon.  As a matter of fact, I went to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert a few weeks ago that was sold out.  Supporting our vibrancy, baby boomers reflect the highest increases in STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) of any age group, which isn’t a good thing, but certainly supports the fact we’re not dead.

Why the Misconceptions About Baby Boomers?

Face it – we live in a culture that values youth rather than age.  Many baby boomers don’t admit their age and certainly try to look younger than we are.  We just kinda blend into Gen X.  People think and talk about baby boomers as if they were in their 60s, 70s, and 80s rather than just past their mid-40s.

I also think part of the problem is we’re not active and visible in the media, including social media and, if we are, we’re busy pretending to be younger.  When I started this blog I asked my social networks what topics I should cover only to have a 40-something tell me he didn’t want to talk about baby boomers because they’re old and boring.  He failed to understand he’s nearly the same age as the baby boomers and, a blog specifically about folks over 40 would include MOSTLY baby boomers.

When I was a kid looking at those old ladies in church wearing their widows black and living only for their kids and grandkids being over 60 meant winding down and getting your affairs in order.  Now, 60 is like the new 40 and baby boomers have more time and more money to enjoy themselves.

Baby Boomers Face Special Challenges

• Employment – the current recession hit baby boomers hard.  Employers replaced us with kids making half as much and it’s hard to find a new job when you’re over 45 – even with age discrimination laws.

And many of us don’t want to retire.  Just think, if you retire at 65, you’ll spend between 25 and 30 years retired.  That’s a LONG time.  But younger folks feel we’re taking up jobs that belong to them.

• Relationships – marriages and relationships with kids can be difficult for baby boomers.  Marriages lasting decades end and baby boomers face starting over again in a dating pool overrun by much younger competitors.
• Technology – many of us grew up in the age before computers.  I remember the school making the change to calculators from slide rules when I was a senior.  Many of us feel uncomfortable using computers, smartphones, and other technologies, but without these skills we become increasingly isolated from the rest of society.
• Body image – we no longer look like 20-somethings and some of us have a hard time dealing with these changes.
• Finances – many of us saw our retirement accounts and investments plummet (and it looks like it’s happening to us again).  Meanwhile, our expenses are going up as boomerang kids move home, our mortgages and taxes go up, and everything costs more.

Related posts:

1. Baby Boomers: Dating Again
2. Epidemic: Obesity Among Baby Boomers