Baby boomers are a different breed from previous generations, and we demand different choices for retirement. Forty years and a gold watch wasn’t going to do it for me so after 25 years I made the choice to leave Corporate America and pursue my passion to “do it my way.”

So what choices are you facing as a baby boomer?

Previous generations retired after working for one company for 25-30 years, and after that stint, they got a pension plan. Retirees had a small house paid for, a nice Social Security check and a pension. Add to that a life expectancy of around 70 years, and you’ll have a perfect retirement plan. (Unfortunately, my dad didn’t get to enjoy his retirement because he passed away at age 52.)

Nowadays it’s a different reality for sure. Life expectancies are creeping up past 80, pension plans are quickly disappearing, and full retirement is no longer at age 65, but rather 66, plus we can expect that to change even more in the future. The fact that so many of us baby boomers are poorly prepared financially doesn’t help the future outlook.

So, more and more, boomers, like myself, are seeking entrepreneurial opportunities to help shore up their inadequate retirement savings.

But businesses can and do fail, often.

Think about the math of failure and recovery. If you start a business when you’re around 50 years old, and it takes about four years to fail, how able will you be to start yet another venture when you’re closer to retirement age?

Networking is hard both off and online. Handshaking and backslapping takes a lot of effort for offline promoters, and web cash flow takes entirely new techniques.

Being on your own means you set your own procedures and policies, serve as your own human resources, sales, marketing, payroll, tax and accounting departments, plus fax and phone answerer - the list goes on and on.

Regardless of how you envision your golden years, you still have to plan for some type of retirement; whether it is off to the Caribbean or possibility in an assisted living facility. How you choose to live in the future will be determined by you choose to live RIGHT NOW.

The Easy Glider takes each day as it comes. These are the boomers who just bought a condo near the beach, for example, and are happy to relax there with their spouse, take walks in the morning and cook dinners together. They enjoy every day and have no interest in going back to work. Easy gliders are usually financially secure and do not have to worry about long-term retirement costs.

The Adventurer makes daring changes with his or her life. They may have retired from one career, then gone back to school and started another career. The longtime teacher who becomes a massage therapist is a good example, or the accountant who earns a culinary arts degree and begins catering parties. Adventurers may be motivated by financial needs. If they have not saved enough for retirement, they need to figure out another source of income.

Adventurers also love to travel. Grandma is no longer knitting in a rocking chair.  She’s off on a week long cruise with her girlfriends.  Grandpa, meanwhile, is taking a cross-country trip on his Harley-Davidson.

The Continuer continues to use existing skills, interests and activities but modifies them to fit retirement. The math professor who retires from the university but continues to tutor students in math, for example, or the realtor who sells her busy and demanding practice but continues to occasionally list houses for friends or relatives. A continuer could be someone who worked as a preschool teacher who now baby sits young children.

The Searcher tries out different careers or hobbies to find something that will bring him or her happiness. Perhaps they’ve started making pottery through a ceramics class, but then find themselves drawn to a class about writing mystery novels. Maybe they’re taking up fishing again, or some other activity they haven’t had time for in years.

This searching also occurs on a spiritual level. Retreats involving prayer, meditation and a deepening of faith appeal to searchers, who are reflecting on what they have learned in their lives, and how they want to spend their remaining years. Most boomers will have a “searching” phase during or after retirement.

The Involved Spectator cares deeply about the world. They love their family members, feel connected to their faith and care about their community. However, because of illness or other circumstances, they are not as involved as they used to be. Someone who has been very involved in her church for many years, but now can only manage spending a few hours a week helping on Sunday mornings, is one example. Another is a grandfather who was always very involved with his grandchildren’s lives, but who sees them less now because of his health concerns.

The Retreater is the boomer who is confused and upset about retirement. The change may have been traumatic for them. They miss their former coworkers and have not been able to make new friends. Instead, they have retreated to their home to watch TV, withdrawing from friends and family. Although a person might be in the “retreat” category for a while, he or she can also transition from this into a more positive stage and become a “searcher.”

So which type of boomer are you?

An 86-year-old woman wanted a tattoo before she died. Her daughter got permission from the doctor, checked her out of the nursing home, and took her to Yankee Tattoo in Burlington, VT. When the tattoo artist asked why she hadn’t done it earlier, she replied, “Honey, Southern ladies didn’t get tattoos in my day.”

As the needles buzzed over her shoulder, the elderly woman explained that for her, tattoos at this stage of life are about not caring what other people think; they’re just for you.

Susan B. agrees. She is turning 65 and is getting her first - an angel on her shoulder. When asked why she wanted a tattoo, she said, “It’s another way of expressing myself in an artistic and individual manner.”

More and more baby boomers are trying to think young again according to one tattoo artist. They’re taking a needle in the arm or on the buttocks all for the sake of expressing themselves.

Why not just write a book instead?

Age may be nothing but a number, but try being over 50 in the workplace.

Despite how far businesses have come in creating a fair and diversified workplace, there is still age discrimination. This is especially true of individuals trying to start a second career or making a career change later in life. How you look can be a factor, though an unspoken one, in whether you are hired or not.

Unfortunately, economic necessity will keep aging baby boomers working longer largely because of longer life expectancy, more limited private pension benefits and anxiety over potential changes in Social Security. These long-term workers sometimes will also be the first to be discarded in favor of younger workers with less pay requirements.

Since age discrimination seems to be increasing, so has the number of age discrimination lawsuits. With many companies downsizing or going bankrupt in today’s economy, the number of older displaced workers has also increased. In 2004, the average payout on a age discrimination lawsuit that went to trial was $219,000.

As many high school graduates prepare for their transition into college life, so too do their parents. In response to the current state of the job market, baby boomers are once again filling the halls of colleges and universities nationwide, making them the new kids on campus.

With the desire to address the burgeoning demands of students in midlife, colleges and universities have begun developing and maintaining programs for boomers in order to help them launch into the next phase of their working lives. It is not just going to back to school, it’s using school to move forward. Education researchers refer to it as “higher education.”

According to the University Continuing Education Association, non-traditional students, those outside of the typical college age or structure, comprise nearly 60 percent of all students at 4-year public institutions and 50 percent at private colleges. In California alone, the number of college students between the ages of 50 and 64 rose 61 percent between 1986 and 2006.

With technology at the helm of the ever-changing job market, workers feel the urgency to return to school to succeed in their field. Esteemed universities, such as Academy of Art University, are catering to boomers interested in reinventing themselves in the second half of life with a dynamic education and confidence in their newly gained abilities.

Academy of Art University has already received an influx of baby boomer students in their comprehensive continuing education program in 13 art and design fields. Whether returning to college for career development, career retraining or personal enrichment, the continuing education program is designed to help boomers gain and maintain critical skills necessary for their new life endeavors.

Retirement doesn’t mean taking up golf or moving to the coast anymore. This dynamic generation is motivated to make a difference in the world and leave a lasting creative legacy. Now, with the power of education, they can.

According to an article in the Huffington Post up to 70 percent of single baby boomers said they dated regularly. The findings from an AARP survey also indicate that of those between 40 and 59 years old, 45 percent of men and 38 percent of women have intercourse at least once a week.

Now it seems the older baby boomers get, the more sex they are having.

More 70-year-olds are having good sex more often, according to Swedish researchers.
They found 70-year-olds of both sexes are having more sex than they did 30 years ago, and many more women report being satisfied with their sex lives.

“Attitudes are more open-minded and positive today, at least in the elderly themselves,” said Nils Beckman of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, whose study appears in the British Medical Journal.

Beckman and colleagues interviewed four groups of 70-year-olds in Sweden about their sex lives between 1971 and 2001. They found that 68 percent of married men said they were having sex in 2001, up from 52 percent in the early ’70s.

The number of married women having sex rose to 54 percent in the group interviewed in 2000-2001, up from 30 percent in the early 70s.

And 12 percent of unmarried women interviewed in 2000-2001 said they were having sex, up from less than 1 percent in the early ’70s. The number of women reporting high sexual satisfaction also increased, with more women reporting an orgasm during sex and fewer reporting never having had one.

Hopefully it will inspire elderly people to seek help if having sexual problems, and make doctors and other health professionals aware that even elderly people can be or would like to be sexually active,” Beckman said.

Article courtesy of Reuters News Service

Baby Boomer women over the age of 50 say lust and passion are more important than marriage. Single women over the age of 50 are twice as likely to have sex on the first date in comparison to the under 40 set. That’s according to a recent survey conducted by a British dating company.

Among the women who said they would have sex on the first date, a stunning 76 percent said they expected romance first and for the dinner bill to be fully paid by the man. When it comes to love expectations, lust and passion are tops for Boomers, according to the survey conducted by Facts International for Wanobe.com and its online dating partner, PARSHIP.co.uk

Some other eye-popping facts about sex, lust and passion and the over-50 crowd:

• 84 percent of over-50 singles want a full sexual relationship with the next person they meet.
• 73 percent intend to find a fulfilling sexual relationship in the next year.
• 60 percent said they don’t care what their children think about their dates.
• 41 percent are looking for commitment.
• 32 percent are likely to flirt with a complete stranger.
• 20 percent are seeking just casual fun.
• 19 percent are game for anything.
• 18 percent will happily date someone at least 10 years younger.
“The research proves that men and women over 50 no longer feel that they have to give up on romance and passion and simply dedicate the rest of their lives to gardening, looking after grandchildren, and providing financial support for their offspring” says Dr Victoria Lukats, a psychiatrist and relationship expert for PARSHIP, who lead the research.

When the mass exodus of baby boomers leave the workforce, there is real concern as to how the employment gaps will be filled.  With public education in a crisis in many urban cities across America, some are questioning if young people will be adequately trained and qualified to pick up the torch and carry it forward.

Here are some of the occupations most affected by baby boomer retirements:

Airline pilots and navigators

Management Analysts

Teachers

Photographers

Teacher Aides

Industrial Engineers

Personnel Managers

As the age of the labor force increases, a greater number of people will leave the labor force due to death, disability, or retirement. Of the 25 million people projected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to leave the labor force between 1998 and 2008, 22 million will be aged 45 years or older and thus will be leaving mostly to retire. The total number of people who left the labor force the previous decade was 19 million. Over the 1998–2008 period, the oldest baby boomers will be aged 52 to 62. After 2008, as more and more baby boomers reach retirement age, the impact of their retirements will continue to grow.

Despite what some may be led to believe, all baby boomers are NOT alike.  We come from different backgrounds and lifestyles.  We are not all living the American Dream.

The following is a list of “baby boomer myths.”  The list comes from Focalyst, a research company that focuses on baby boomers and mature consumers.

1. We are retiring early.  Only 11% of Boomers plan to stop working entirely when they reach the age of retirement.

2. Boomers are downsizing their homes.  75% plan to live in either a similar or bigger home five years from now.

3. Most Boomers are married empty nesters.  Only around 25% fit the profile of married with adult children who have left home.

4. We can be captured with mainstream advertising.  66% say that ads have become more crude in recent years and over two thirds won’t buy a product if the advertising is offensive.

5. Boomers are brand loyal.  Almost 66% of Boomers don’t believe it pays to loyal to one brand.

6. Boomers are all wealthy.  While Boomers account for about half of the nation’s net worth, only 9% are truly affluent.

7. We are winding down.  The average boomer regularly participates in an average of 10 activities.

8. Boomers are technologically challenged.  82% of Boomers are online with 64% having been connected for 6 or more years.

9. Baby Boomers are the “Me Generation.”  More than two-thirds of Boomers feel they have a responsibility to make the world a better place.

10. We are all the same.  Members of the Boomer generation are more different from one another when compared to members of either younger or older generations.

I was born in 1957 so that means I’m a baby boomer. But what does being a baby boomer really mean? By all accounts, we are the children of the Post World War II era, which began in 1946.

In May, 1951, Sylvia F. Porter, a columnist for the New York Post, used the term “Boom” to refer to the phenomenon of increased births in post war America. She said “Take the 3,548,000 babies born in 1950. Bundle them into a batch, bounce them all over the bountiful land that is America. What do you get? Boom. The biggest, boomiest boom ever known in history.” That boom she referred to continued until 1964.

Much attention is being paid to baby boomers these days as the first wave of us moves towards retirement and social security. Yes, we were the first generation to grow up with television; many of us lived through the civil rights era and the Vietnam War. But the real image of a baby boomer is now in question.  We are not all white kids who grew up in the suburbs watching the Mickey Mouse Club.  We have been referred to as the most diverse generation but the fact of the matter is some of us actually grew up in a separate and  unequal society.

According to a study conducted by two Duke University sociologists diversity has not led to equality:  Baby boomers are the first generation to come of age after the Civil Rights era, however, the study revealed differences of income according to race, ethnicity and country of birth so entrenched that, in effect, there are ethnic classes.  Blacks in the boomer generation, for example are no better off relative to whites than their parents and grandparents. Many older southern baby boomers can still tell you stories about the Jim Crow laws and the impact it had on their lives.

Baby Boomers aren’t as active on the internet as one might be led to believe.  According to a survey conducted by ThirdAge, Inc., more than half of boomers have never visited a social networking site.  Surprising?  Yes, it is to me since the vast majority of women I come in contact with on a daily basis are boomers.

But according to Third Age, Inc., 53 percent of boomers said they had never visited social networking sites; 47 percent cited concerns over privacy and having personal information on the Web; 39 percent said they’re too busy; and 32 percent see no benefit in spending time social networking.

“Boomers are using more traditional Web communication tools, such as e-mail, to keep in touch with their existing group of friends in order to share photos and, more importantly, life experience,” according to Third Age Chief Executive Officer Sharon Whiteley.  “That said, boomers in general are interested in connecting and interacting with others in their community around shared interests and common issues. They relate to people sharing a similar life phase, and they trust those who have walked in their shoes.”

The survey also found boomers are “not yet” interested in: blogs, podcasts, music downloads and group gaming.

Boomers alone account for 78 million people and control more than 83 percent of consumer spending, according to the companies that produced the survey. Forty percent of the United States’ population is over 45, with 50 percent market growth projected over the next 15 years. Boomer spending will increase $800 billion to over $4.6 trillion by 2015.

Did you know public elementary and high school students today are more diverse than the baby boomer generation of students? According to a report by the US Census Bureau, in 1970, the student population was 79 percent non-Hispanic white, 14 percent black, 1 percent Asian and Pacific islander and other races and 6 percent Hispanic. In 2003, 60 percent were non-Hispanic white, 16 percent black, 4 percent Asian and 18 percent Hispanic. By the years 2015, I bet the number of minority students will outnumber whites. It already does in many urban cities across America.

Today I became the parent of a high school graduate. Just like most parents of my baby boomer generation, I always want the best for my daughter. I want her to be judged by the content of her character and her knowledge and not by the color of her skin. Unfortunately, racism is still alive and well and in some cases being perpetuated by the baby boomer generation. All you have to do is look inside the boardrooms in Corporate America and see who’s calling the shots and how many faces of color are in real decision-making positions.

Sadly, too many young people enter into adulthood without a clue as to how the world really is. Why? Good question. In today’s speech, the Valedictorian admitted he lived in a “bubble” for four years and, as a result, missed out on the opportunity to get to know and help some people along the way.

We, as baby boomer parents, must bear the responsibility for how our children have been raised. The future is in their hands. What you instill in them when they’re young will reveal itself when they become adults—good or bad. It will also be a reflection on you.

So the question is, are you happy with the way your children (and grandchildren) are turning out?

Baby boomers are providing care for aging parents in record numbers, and many are overwhelmed by the physical and emotional demands.

A study sponsored by ElderCarelink highlights some familiar issues and includes a few surprises. Nearly 700 respondents, from all 50 states, answered the on-line questionnaire designed to explore family caregiving.

According to Robert Brooks, CEO of ElderCarelink, “The results highlighted emerging issues and also validated trends that previous surveys have identified.”

* Female caregivers outnumber males by 6 to 1 and report more emotional and physical impact due to caregiving than their male counterparts, but in other ways male and female respondents are very similar.
* Forty-one percent of all caregivers actually live with the care recipient.
* Most caregivers are married with some college education and have children who are grown and no longer living at home.
* Nearly one third provide more than 40 hours of care per week, and 57% say they very rarely or never take time off from their caregiving duties.
* As a result of their responsibilities, some 60% of all caregivers report their health has deteriorated since they began providing care, and 69% describe feeling overwhelmed by caregiving.

Family life is also impacted by caregiving, with 39% of respondents reporting conflicts with other family members about the care recipient. A significant number also report financial hardship and difficulty maintaining their own homes and family.

“These results are important,” says Brooks, “because they confirm the growing impact that caregiving is having on families across the U.S.”

According to Brooks, the survey and its results form the first phase of a comprehensive database on caregiving which will be available through ElderCarelink. For more detailed information visit eldercarelink.com.