Put together a number of experts drawn from the Boomer and beyond marketing world, add in an abundance of fresh research and mix it all up with better than average convention food and liberal amounts of wine, and there will be no shortage of opinions about what the future holds for this key demographic.
Newly returned from the American Society of Aging’s Aging in America 2009 and the What’s Next Boomer Summit, both held in Las Vegas last week, here are some top line predictions I gathered–both from the podium and in the pews. In Stephen Reily’s last blog entry (and my build on his insights) we already predicted that in regards to social networking, there will be an explosion of opportunity in micro-niche sites targeting women 50+ where there can be as many successes as there are meaningful affinities.
Here are some more predictions:
- As they transit the coming decades following what is increasingly being called “The Great Recession,” the economic well-being of women 50+ will be determined less by what they’ve saved/accumulated (which in many cases has become eroded to the point of being virtually irrelevant) and more by whether they are working or not.
The experts on ASA’s panel “Financial Meltdown” agreed that having a job will be a coveted financial asset. While the majority of Boomers have always said they wanted to work well past traditional retirement age, now most will have no choice. But here’s the kicker, paraphrasing the Urban Institute’s Robert Johnson: “Older workers are screwed.” Not only are many companies shedding their older (more expensive) workers, but there is precious little in the economic stimulus program that is targeted to helping mature workers retool themselves for the new economy in formation. - That said, lack of financial resources–or even a job–will not necessarily equate to dissatisfaction.
In fact, the line between spirituality and economics has all but melted away, as a recurring theme that bubbled up throughout both conferences is the ascendance of “meaning” over material goods as the primary factor that is increasingly coming to define “the good life.” MetLife has recently issued a study on the subject that is getting a lot of buzz, and that has inspired spokeswoman Sandra Timmerman, herself a woman 50+ who has retooled expectations about her own personal future, to sound as much evangelist as financial expert. Women 50+ “with a sense of purpose in their lives are more likely to report being happy,” is a quote from MetLife’s “Discovering What Matters.” But Sandra does not stand alone in this. Who would have thought, for instance, that Harry Moody, Ph.D., director of the prestigious Office of Academic Affairs at AARP, is also author of the book The Five Stages of the Soul: Charting the Spiritual Passages that Shape Our Lives, has co-presented with the likes of Ram Dass and Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, and presents dream analysis workshops on the side? - Hand-in-hand with the growth of spiritual pursuits will be the tendency to “drop off the grid.”
Steve French of market research group NMI cites that 78% of Boomers are staying home more. Some are cocooning out of choice, some because they can’t find employment. In some communities, even seeking a desirable volunteer job has become competitive. While there is a massive recalibration of lifestyle and aspirations afoot, this is nothing new to many women 50+ who after the shock of it all, express relief at the possibility of living a simpler life that reclaims both the values and survival strategies formed at an earlier stage of their lives. Of course, this will include plenty of time for virtual online communities, reading, the arts, intergenerational relationships, NetFlix and “doing good,” however that expresses itself. Women 50+ have joked on and off for years about going back to live in communes some day, buying food at co-ops, trading for goods and services and the like. Nobody’s laughing any more.
ReginaLove, that is SO great to hear! As for soy, it may help with menopause symptoms -- it it controversial. The best way to use soy is in the form of whole fermented soy foods (miso, tempeh, tamari and natto). Non-fermented soy foods such as soy mi
Agreed. I never thought I was vain until I had a mastectomy at age 39. I was devastated and told the doc I wanted to wake up with implants. Now at age 60, I am lopsided and wondering if I was just avoiding the inevitable. You get what you get and you
Sounds very interesting.
Spike, you are awesome! Love your perspective, thanks for sharing.
Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot (http://sb.city2.org/blogs/sue/blog_entries/621-sara-lawrence-lightfoot-wows-them-at-victoria-hall/blog_comments/new)
would say that this period of our lives is a time for opportunity. She agrees with our (meaning women over 50) wanting to give back to society–like leaving our imprint. I agree that boomer women are rethinking (reinventing?) retirement and I love your suggestions of living “in communes, buying food at co-ops” and especially “trading goods for services.”
However, Kim Komando, the journalist and radio show personality, reminds us of our obligations to our aging parents which compound of wants and needs. Thankfully, she provided her readers with ways to protect our parents with web cams and monitoring systems so that we can “have our cake and eat it too.” Thanks Carol, Sara and Kim for your contributions to making this part of our lives more fulfilled than we ever imagined.