LOOKING AHEAD: A BABY-BOOMER PERSPECTIVE

Excerpts from a Segmentation Analysis by
the American Association of Retired Persons

The "Baby Boom" generation is that component of the U.S. population born between 1946 and 1964, in the wake of World War II. For many decades, it has attracted the attention of demographers, politicians, marketers and social scientists as the years have passed -- from the postwar boom of the 1950s to the counterculture of the 1960s, then on to the dual-income households and the "me" generation of the 1970s and 1980s, through the present decade. Now the oldest baby boomers are into their 50s, and, as such, are approaching retirement. Some, in fact, already have retired. Many will do so well before 2010. A recent study by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), amassing information gathered through focus groups, extensive telephone interviews and other polling mechanisms, surveyed expectations of the baby boom generation in a number of areas. It reveals the following: Eight in 10 plan to work at least part-time during their retirement. Only 16 percent say they do not expect to work at all. Six in 10 feel confident in their ability to prepare adequately for the future. Only 23 percent believe they will have to struggle to make ends meet. Only about two in 10 have the attitude that "the future will take care of itself," and only nine percent believe in dependence on their family for assistance during retirement. Two-thirds are satisfied with the amount of money they are depositing today for retirement. Fewer than half (48 percent) are counting on Social Security as a source of retirement income, and of these, just 15 percent expect to rely on it for most or all of their retirement needs. Nearly half (49 percent) expect to devote more time to community service or volunteer activities during retirement. More than seven in 10 (73 percent) plan to become involved in a hobby or special interest to which they will dedicate considerable time when retired. More than eight in 10 (81 percent) of those who claim to have given considerable thought to retirement say they feel optimistic about those years.