It’s never too late to fall
in love——50romance.com
Millions of baby boomers reaching retirement age, fears are mounting of the economic impact if they follow the pattern of previous generations by curbing spending and draining Social Security and Medicare benefits.
But the 78 million boomers – born from 1946 to 1964 – have always broken
the mold in terms of setting trends, and some investors and business and
community leaders see their retirement as no different. They see an
unprecedented, multi-billion-dollar opportunity to offer new products and
services to an active demographic group that’s expected to live longer than
previous generations.
When Elizabeth Reighard started her fitness training business in Myrtle Beach, S.C.,
four years ago, most of her students were in their mid-30s. But now her client
list is made up mainly of boomers, such as Mary Smith, 58, who hired Reighard
to help her “keep up with the grandkids.”
The demand for fitness trainers such as Reighard is expected to jump 24
percent over the next decade, largely because of baby boomers who want to stay
healthy longer, according to the Department of Labor. “I’m seeing it more and
more. Seniors know they have to be in better shape to have less aches and
pains,” said Reighard, who’s also a boomer.
The Census Bureau projects that Americans 65 and older will make up 19
percent of the population by 2030.
Community and business leaders in places such as the coastal towns of Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head and Bluffton, S.C.,
are looking to the growing retirement community to help rekindle local
economies. They’re rethinking sporting and shopping developments, as well as
art centers, to attract on-the-go retirees looking for an array of activities.
Impact on the labor market
On the labor front, the health care industry is the most obvious
benefactor of a longer-living active community. Demand for home-health aides is
expected to grow 70 percent over the next decade.
Demand also will be high in less obvious fields, such as for architects,
who will be called on to build senior-friendly communities; financial advisers,
to help boomers plan their retirements; recreation workers, who’ll lead
boomer-tailored excursions; and job trainers, who’ll teach the new workers
called on to replace retirees.
“It’s only in Washington
that 100 million people are viewed as an unaffordable cost and financial
burden,” said Jody Holtzman, a senior vice president at AARP. “In the private
sector, 100 million people are called a market and an opportunity.”
Concern about a drain on entitlements from retiring baby boomers has
increased as talks intensify over avoiding the fiscal cliff. The Congressional
Budget Office warned in June of a shortfall for entitlement programs, as aging
boomers would consume a “significant and sustained” share of benefits from
Social Security, Medicare and long-term-care services financed by Medicaid, the
health care program for the poor.
Those projections fail to take into account that boomers are expected to
work longer and they’ve never followed in the footsteps of previous
generations, said Matt Thornhill, an author of “Boomer Consumer,” a book that
examines marketing to the baby boomer generation.
“We became the generation of consumption and personal gratification,”
Thornhill said. “Boomers are not going to spend at all like the prior
generations did at 65. They’re going to spend at boomer levels. And there’s
millions more of them.”
Jeet Singh, who helped develop e-commerce software used by online retailers
such as Best Buy and J. Crew, said retirees hadn’t been treated with respect in
terms of offering them well-designed high-quality products without announcing
their ages.
“You just can’t fight the numbers,” said Singh. “All these people are out
there. They have needs. Whether it’s what they eat, what they buy, where they
shop, how they vacation.”
“What’s your 50-plus plan?”
Sam Farber created Oxo Good Grips in 1990 when he noticed that his wife
had trouble holding kitchen tools because of arthritis, according to the
company’s history. Farber saw a business opportunity in creating more
comfortable cooking tools. Oxo now makes more than 850 products that appeal
across generations.
Holtzman of AARP likes to share that story when he’s trying to inspire
entrepreneurs. He’s met with hundreds of venture capitalists, encouraging them
to ask one additional question when entrepreneurs are seeking startup money:
“What’s your 50-plus plan?”
“The one question a startup doesn’t want to get from its board of
directors is this one: ‘Why did you leave money on the table by ignoring a
market of 100 million people with $3.5 trillion to spend?’ ” he said.
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