Kansas City Star

March 20, 2005

 

Their time to shine

By Diane Stafford

Here's a new wrinkle on the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Merrill Lynch wanted to know what kind of retirees baby boomers wish to be.

There are at least five distinct retirements envisioned by those who were born between 1946 and 1964.

The "New Retirement Survey" asked 3,448 American baby boomers to describe their financial and lifestyle hopes and fears. The responses were analyzed by Ken Dychtwald, a psychologist and gerontologist.

"It's a wrong assumption that retirement is the same, or that everyone wants to retire and no one wants to work again," Dychtwald said. "Today, we're more likely to find that someone's retirement goal is reinvention rather than winding down.

"... They've seen what the post-retirement 'longevity bonus' can do. It can turn your brain to mush if you're not using it. ... The average retiree last year watched 43 hours of television a week. Boomers are saying they'll need the money, yes, but also the stimulation of work as well as social connections."

The survey confirmed that the old model of a leisure-filled retirement is out and a new "cyclical retirement" expectation is in.

Whether motivated by financial need or a desire to stay active, boomers are more apt to continue working on and off, enter second careers, get advanced degrees, or volunteer than earlier generations, the study found.

Dychtwald said the study's five profiles of boomer retirees are not based as much on current income or assets as they are on professed expectations for what their retirements will look like. The five profiles:

Empowered trailblazers (18 percent of the study group): Nine out of 10 want to continue working; eight of 10 want to travel; nearly seven of 10 want to volunteer -- all in the name of actively expanding their horizons. The group reported average assets of $188,000.

Wealth builders (31 percent): Eight out of 10 expect to continue working, mostly because they are motivated by a sense of financial success and security. Average assets, $215,000.

Anxious idealists (20 percent): Half want to be sure to leave something for their heirs or charity; most fear they haven't saved enough to reach that goal; and more than eight out of 10 think it costs too much to retire. Average assets, $117,000.

Leisure lifers (13 percent): Three-fourths want rest, relaxation and reduced stress, and more than nine out of 10 want government entitlements to help pay for that lifestyle. Some already have quit work. Average assets, $176,000.

Stretched and stressed (18 percent): Nine out of 10 aren't looking forward to the next stage because they don't expect it to be happy; they haven't saved enough and expect to continue working although they don't want to. They have earned the least. Average assets: $63,000.