To date, no entity has pursued an understanding of the emerging mature
consumer with as much depth and zeal as Age Wave, under the leadership of
Dr. Ken Dychtwald. As a result of having overseen hundreds of cutting edge
research and consulting assignments during nearly thirty years of trial
and error, Age Wave has developed a unique understanding of the body, mind,
heart, soul, desires and demands of today's new maturing consumer. The
company's far reaching explorations and innovative solutions have fertilized
and catalyzed a broad spectrum of industry sectors from vitamins and cookies
to automotive design and retail merchandising to mutual funds and health
insurance. To Ken Dychtwald and the Age Wave professionals, every research
or consulting assignment presents a unique challenge to break new ground and
discover or invent new opportunities. Click here for examples. Groundbreaking primary and secondary research, including segmentation modeling, data interpretation, tailored studies and surveys and polls to understand a wide range of issues pertaining to the consumption and/or employment patterns and preferences of all generations of maturing adults.
Strategic planning to help companies or governmental groups develop an impactful approach to the current and future mature population, based on solid facts, innovative ideas and imaginative cross-functional expertise.
Cutting-edge brainstorming processes to help generate new, innovative ideas for the healthcare, pharmacy, supermarket, general merchandise, entertainment, retail, travel and leisure, food and beverage, financial services, housing and automotive industries.
Business development guidance to help identify line extensions, venture development or acquisitions poised to maximize the opportunities being created by predictable demographic shifts.
The Allianz Women, Money and Power Study
Over the past several decades, women have shattered barriers in politics, the workforce, and in family roles. However, the picture is far more mixed in the financial world. Women represent half of all stock market investors, control 48 percent of estates worth more than $5 million, and by 2010 will control 60 percent of the wealth in the United States. In 2003, almost two million women earned over $100,000-a four-fold increase in just a decade. No longer playing the role of secondary earner, sixty percent of women with business degrees and seventy five percent of executive women working for Fortune 500 companies out-earn their husbands. Yet, at the same time, poverty rates among women remain far higher than men among all age groups. Despite great strides in almost every other arena, finance and investments have remained largely a male domain.
In fact, money and investing is in many ways the last-and perhaps the most important-frontier in gender equality. In the largest ever study of women and money, Allianz Life Insurance Company engaged Age Wave, the nation's thought-leader on demographic trends, to design a landmark research initiative, The Allianz Women, Money and Power Study to better understand women's relationship with money and investing. The study included a survey of over 3,000 women and men conducted by Harris Interactive.
Money$ense and Sensibility
This groundbreaking project unveiled women's key motivations in investing and long-term financial management. Of these, achieving security and peace of mind clearly topped the list. In fact, the survey found that the security and freedom money brings women is 15-20 times more important than the status and respect. Nonetheless, security remains elusive for most women. Only ten percent say they feel extremely financially secure, and-as incredible as it sounds-half say they fear losing everything they have and becoming a bag lady living on the streets. Even more astoundingly, looking at even the most affluent women-earning more than $100,000 a year-48 percent of these women fear becoming a bag lady.
He Said/She Said
The way couples and families relate around money and investing is also being transformed. As we move from a model where husbands are the primary financial decision makers to more joint decisions, money has become the major cause of disharmony in marriage today. Women in our survey reported that money is almost twenty times more likely than sex to be the biggest source of conflict with their husbands. Not surprisingly, therefore, our study found that women often take savings into their own hands. One in five women report having a "secret stash" of savings their husbands don't know about, and women are almost twice as likely as men to advise younger women to put away money that is just theirs.
Five Fictional Characters
Women are continuing to revolutionize their role in money and investing. The Allianz Women, Money and Power Study is the first study to identify the distinct financial roles women are creating today. Our survey identified five personas from commonly recognized fictional characters.
"Cinderellas" - 8% of women hope that Prince Charming will make everything okay and feel they lack sufficient knowledge to make smart financial decisions.
"Alices in Wonderlands" - 17% of women are confused by all the financial choices and avoid financial responsibility.
"Wonder Women" -18% of women feel capable of handling whatever comes their way, feel confident, empowered, extremely knowledgeable about money and investing, and most likely to work with a financial advisor.
"Belles" - 23% like to handle things equally with their partners, are communicative and happy with their marriages where household finances are concerned.
"Goldilockses" - 35% of women thoroughly research their options before making financial decisions, they are confident, analytical and highly knowledgeable about household finances.
The Feminizing of Financial Services
Over the next decade, the financial services industry will increasingly adapt to the distinct needs of women. The most successful companies will be the ones that recognize and deliver on women's core needs. The financial "gender revolution" will likely be just as complex and challenging as women's transformation of politics, the workforce, and family roles. The Allianz Women, Money and Power Study reveals women's key needs, concerns, and aspirations, and provides both insights and guidance to financial institutions, media, families, couples, and women themselves as they reshape their roles, positions, and power in money and investing.
For more on the study please visit the web site at www.allianzlife.com
The Future of Retirement II Study
Building on the success of the Future of Retirement study completed in 2005,
Age Wave and HSBC again collaborated to expand the results of the study, both
geographically and in the types of people interviewed. This was the largest
global survey into attitudes towards aging and retirement ever conducted. The
study surveyed 21,000 people and 6,000 companies in 20 countries and territories
and revealed some surprising new findings in a variety of focus areas:
Retirement is Being Redefined. Rather than a time to “disappear” or “withdraw,” the new definition of retirement is to remain active and engaged. In the HSBC Future of Retirement: What the World Wants survey, few associate retirement with “the beginning of the end.” Instead, increasing numbers view retirement as a continuation of what life was or even an opportunity for a new chapter in life, and, overwhelmingly, people have positive views of retirement. This shift in attitude reflects a global redefinition of retirement from a period “Rest” in the 1940s and 1950s, to “Reward” in the 1970s to a “Right” by the 1980s, to an entirely new model of “Re-Invention” today.
Keys to Happiness in Later Life. All around the world, respondents said that family, friends and fitness define the quality of later life, not necessarily money. But the definition of happiness does vary somewhat from country to country. In some regions, staying young at heart is viewed as the key to happiness, while in others having a strong religious faith is a priority. Moreover, we have found – surprisingly - that globally elders are less fearful and are more optimistic than their younger cohorts about the potential of later life.
Value of Older Workers. Over the past several decades, labor force participation among the age 60+ has substantially lessened. In an era of declining fertility rates and global population ageing, companies will have to find new ways to tap the resource of older workers in order to remain competitive. In fact, the HSBC Future of Retirement research reveals that older workers are actually valued as more reliable and loyal and just as productive and motivated as younger workers. Moreover, both employers and employees around the world reject mandatory retirement based on age.
Employers Must Adapt and Provide New Flexibilities. People in almost every country would prefer to keep working in some fashion during retirement. However, this rarely means working full-time at the same job. Instead, people are looking for flexible arrangements, such as part-time work or even alternating between periods of work and leisure in later life. Moreover, for many, non-monetary rewards—such as stimulating work, the ability to continue learning, or the opportunity to teach younger workers—are often viewed as more important than financial compensation. Nonetheless, many companies do not offer the flexibility or non-financial rewards older workers are seeking. Our research and studies have identified pioneering, effective programs and strategies to attract, retain, and motivate an ageing workforce, including phased retirement, part-time work, bridge careers, retraining, sabbaticals, and mentoring programs.
Who Will Pay for the Costs of Increasing Longevity? While there will certainly be continued reliance on the family, employers and governments, the majority of people around the world are recognizing they will need to take more personal responsibility for planning and preparing for their financial needs and goals in their retirement years. However, though individuals want to be self-sufficient in their retirement years, they also want governments to do more to help them help themselves. When given the choice, respondents in almost every country chose enforcement of additional private savings over other options to help finance and support ageing populations, such as increasing retirement age, reducing pensions, and raising taxes.
The New Retirement MindscapeSMStudy
The first of 78 million boomers began to turn 60 in January.
Boomers will continue to celebrate their 60th birthday at a
rate of 10,000/day, 4 million each year for the next 18 years.
Boomers will re-invent the way they retire. Preparation and planning will be foremost on their minds
as they approach their retirement years. Age Wave, Ameriprise
Financial and Harris Interactive collaborated on, The New
Retirement Mindscapes SM, the first study to understand people’s
attitudes, worries, behaviors, ambitions and needs both before
and after retirement. This groundbreaking study uncovered five
distinct and predictable stages of retirement as follows:
Stage 1: Imagination (15 - 6 years prior to retirement) – Retirement is still years away, but during the Imagination stage, people have very positive views about retirement, although only 44 percent say they are "on track" in terms of preparation. In this stage, people have high expectations of adventure (65 percent) and empowerment (53 percent) for retirement. Stage 2: Anticipation (5 years prior to retirement) – As retirement draws closer, positive emotions are on the rise with 80 percent saying that they "will be able to achieve their dreams in retirement." However, in the two years prior to retirement, worries and anxiety mount with 22 percent saying that they will feel a sense of loss after their working years are over. The most commonly cited triggers for retirement readiness were achieving "financial freedom" (18 percent) or a significant birthday (16 percent). Stage 3: Liberation (Retirement Day and one year following) – This is a time of great excitement, relief and enthusiasm as 78 percent of people say they are "enjoying retirement a great deal." But, similar to a honeymoon, the feeling of liberation is short-lived, as a new reality soon begins to set in. Stage 4: Reorientation (2-15 years after retirement) – During the Reorientation stage, many say the joy of retirement has passed, giving way to feelings of emptiness (49 percent), worry (38 percent) and boredom (34 percent). This is the point in the progression where an emotional let-down may occur to varying degrees. Four distinct profiles emerged in the Reorientation stage: Empowered Reinventors (19 percent), Carefree Contents (19 percent), Uncertain Searchers (22 percent) and Worried Strugglers (40 percent). Stage 5: Reconciliation (16 or more years after retirement) – This stage is marked by increased contentment, acceptance and personal reflection. People have come to terms with all that retirement has to offer. While there are lower levels of depression (5 percent), some people (22 percent) report feelings of sadness as they confront end-of-life issues.
The Allianz American Legacies Study
During the next several decades, over $25 trillion will be passed from one generation
to the next - the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history and one of the
most crucial untapped opportunities in the financial services industry. Age Wave
collaborated with Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America and Harris Interactive,
to conduct a groundbreaking, comprehensive national study of the attitudes, hopes,
worries, priorities, plans and goals of both the elder generation and their heirs - the
78 million strong baby boom generation. The study of more than 2,500 Americans dispelled
many of the common myths about legacy and inheritance including that money is our most
important legacy. Among the key findings were:
There are four pillars of legacy: values and life lessons, personal possessions of emotional value, wishes and directions to be fulfilled and financial assets/real estate.
Values and life lessons was overwhelmingly considered most important by both generations (more than 75%).
Elders (22%) are seven times more likely than boomers (3%) to believe they owe their children an inheritance.
The majority of boomers (68%) and their parents' generation (71%) say they feel highly confident discussing key elements of inheritance and legacy planning issues, yet only around one third (29%) of boomers and elders (31%) have actually done so with their own families.
Non-financial leave-behinds - like ethics, morality, faith and religion - are 10x more important to both boomers and elders with children than financial aspects.
Fulfilling last wishes and distributing personal possessions were 5x more likely to be the greatest source of family conflict during a legacy transfer than the distribution of finances according to boomers whose parents are not alive.
The Future of Retirement Study
In conjunction with HSBC, Age Wave has just completed the world's most comprehensive study to date on global attitudes to aging and retirement. This landmark work investigates the issues that really matter to people; their hopes, dreams, priorities, aspirations and fears for later life. It also examines the ways people of different generations across the globe prepare for later life. The results are compelling and show how societies are evolving, with many of us choosing new ways of living and working. The study interviewed over 11,000 adults and spanned four continents. It uncovered startling facts about attitudes on retirement and aging all over the world. Some highlights regarding the ways different countries view old age and retirement:
Americans view their later years as a time for opportunity, new careers, and
spiritual fulfillment, but are less focused on family or health than other countries
The British view later life as a time of self-sufficiency, independence, and personal
responsibility, counting on neither government nor family to care for them
Brazilians view later life as a time for slowing down, relaxing, and spending time with
their families, relatives, and friends, and they expect significant support from their children
In China, younger generations view retirement as an opportunity for a new life but
continued careers, while older generations want to stop working and relax. All Chinese
people view family as an important source of happiness and support
Indians view later life as a time to live with and be cared for by their families
The New Retirement Survey
The leading edge of the baby boom generation now stands at the threshold of retirement. However, just as boomers have transformed every other lifestage they have passed through, they will revolutionize retirement as well. Age Wave, Merrill Lynch and Harris Interactive collaborated in a groundbreaking national study that provided a complex and illuminating preview of the future of this generation. The study reveals an unparalleled understanding of the motivations, ambitions, hopes, concerns, and plans of the boomers as they visualize and prepare for their retirement future.
"The New Retirement Survey" builds upon conventional wisdom that boomers are not interested in pursuing traditional retirement models. Instead, boomers will transform retirement and reinvent retirement preparedness by creating new models of work, leisure, and continued personal growth. Five distinct and different boomer segments emerged from the study: "Empowered Trailblazers," "Wealth-Builders," "Leisure Lifers," "Anxious Idealists" and "Stretched and Stressed." The survey illustrated the current attitudes and aspirations of each group, ambitions and challenges for later life, level of financial preparedness, and their ideal plan for funding their retirement dreams. Click here to View Ken Dychtwald's recent appearance on CBS MarketWatch. For more information about the survey, visit: (no longer available at Merrill)
The Demography is De$tiny Research Project
As a result of unique demographic shifts, younger generations are declining in size and loyalty, middle-aged
workers are struggling with career frustrations, and growing numbers of mature men and women are seeking new
skills and employment challenges. To make sense of these dynamics, in collaboration with 28 of the world's
leading corporations and not-for-profit organizations, Age Wave and The Concours Group have completed a landmark
research project titled "Demography is De$tiny." The project has examined such topics as: how to anticipate
the defining trends in workforce demographics; how to prevent a massive "brain drain" as the boomers approach
retirement; how to develop greater loyalty among younger workers; and how human resource practices - from
recruitment, to management, to compensation, to benefits - will need to be transformed to meet the emerging
demands of this increasingly diverse employee mix.
A blueprint of actions necessary to make organizations responsive to a transforming workforce was published
for participating companies. Key findings from this project were recently featured in the
Harvard Business Review and a new book titled Retire Retirement, Rekindle Careers and Retain Talent:
Making the Most of Demographic Changes in the Workforce written by Ken Dychtwald, Bob Morison and Tamara
Erickson will be published by the Harvard Business School Press in 2005. Visit http://agewave.com/media.shtml#hbr for a preview
of the HBR article and to learn more about this pioneering work, visit:
http://www.concoursgroup.com/public-web/redesign/research/demography_brochure.asp
The New Employee/Employer Equation Study:
Determining the "Ideal Deal" for Each Segment of the Workforce
Age Wave, The Concours Group and Harris Interactive joined forces to undertake an ambitious,
timely and original research study designed to determine which elements of the "employee deal" appeal
to each segment in the nations' increasingly diverse workforce. Beginning with the most comprehensive
survey of its kind drawing 7,800 representative employees from all industries/sectors and every level
of function, we will develop an advanced segmentation model that, for the first time, will allow us to
determine the "ideal deal" for each workforce segment - clustered by a variety of age, values, cohort,
ethnicity, lifestage and workstyle factors.
Taking lessons learned from innovations in consumer marketing, out of this pioneering work will come an
assessment tool that will allow employers to determine which segment each worker aligns with, and how
to best recruit, manage and reward them - for optimal individual and company performance. Elements
examined will include work arrangements and scheduling, workplace and management style, opportunities
for learning and growth, compensation, benefits and other forms of motivation and reward. The project
has enrolled 24 of the country's major corporations as participants and the results were launched
early this year. For more information about this groundbreaking work,
visit: http://www.agewave.com/media_files/EEE%20Brochure.pdf
The "Optimal Daily Intake" Vitamin and Supplement Study
Age Wave, in collaboration with more than 100 of the world's most prominent nutrition scientists and clinicians, has embarked on a pioneering study to establish the "optimal" daily amounts of selected nutrients for healthy adults and a variety of prevalent medical conditions including: cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis. The Optimal Daily Intake (ODI) model seeks to establish a core set of parameters for nutrition that is applicable for large segments of the adult population. While we recognize the value in customizing nutrition-oriented suggestions to individuals, we nevertheless believe that progress can be made toward establishing a core set of parameters for large segments of the adult population.
This timely study, being conducted by Harris Interactive, holds the potential to shape a new paradigm for the broad scientific community while providing important clarifying information for health professionals and consumers. The ODI study, whose results will be made public in 2005, is being underwritten by the Leiner Health Products Company. Click here to learn more from Ken Dychtwald about the need for Optimal Daily Intake in our lives.
Re-Visioning Retirement
Retirement isn't what it used to be. It is becoming far more varied, exciting, unpredictable, and, in many ways, more difficult than it was for prior generations. Age Wave completed a groundbreaking study of the past, present, and future of retirement. In the first-ever definitive segmentation of the attitudes, lifestyles, ambitions, concerns, and financial preparedness of today's retirees, this nationwide survey of 1,000 retiree households revealed the "four faces of retirement": Ageless Explorers, Comfortably Contents, Live for Today's and Sick and Tireds.
In addition, the study, which was conducted by Harris Interactive and sponsored by AIG SunAmerica, probed such issues as: is retirement alive or dead; are people seeking traditional retirement security or a new type of financial and lifestyle freedom; what is the new retirement dream and what does it take to achieve it; and how successful retirees define the ideal financial planner. The release of this study was met with tremendous response from the media with featured coverage on 60 Minutes and in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Business Week and U.S. News and World Report. For more information about the research and its results, visit:
http://www.re-visioningretirement.com/
Envisioning Tomorrow's Aging-Ready Healthcare System: Meridian Health
Due to the disproportionately aging demographics in their primary
service areas of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, New Jersey, Meridian
Health has already built one of the country's most comprehensive and
visionary "aging-ready" community healthcare systems. Expanding upon
this strategic commitment to its communities, Meridian has retained Age
Wave to jointly develop a model of a 21st century 'utopian' aging-ready
health care delivery system. The project's corporate sponsor is
Siemens, a recognized global leader in the area of electronics and
health care information automation.
During the course of this consulting engagement, Age Wave crafted a composite
of the nation's leading provider and other organizations best practices in a
wide range of health service areas, including: assisted living, home health care,
orthopedic, cardiovascular and cancer care, plus anti-aging clinics and wellness
solutions (among many others). By studying all elements of this utopian composite,
Age Wave, Meridian and Siemens identified new and high value
opportunities for Meridian to create and deliver these new leading edge
solutions that will meet the complex needs and desires of both current
mature adults and aging boomers. For more information about Meridian
Health, visit: http://www.meridianhealth.com/index.cfm/index.cfm
Private Sector
Associations and Government Agencies
Adva Med
AIG/SunAmerica
ALARIS Medican Systems
Allianz
American College
American Express
American General Life Insurance
American Household
Ameriprise Financial
Asset Marketing Systems
Astra Zeneca
AT&T
B.T. Alex Brown
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
Cadillac Motor Car Division
CBS Broadcast Network
CE Concepts
Charles Schwab
Clark Bardes
Coldwell Banker
Country Financial
CR Bard
CSC Index
CUSO Financial
Diageo
Discovery Networks
EAS Performance Nutrition
Edison Electric Institute
Edward Jones
Eli Lilly & Co.
Edison Electric Institute
Ernst & Young
Express Scripts
Fidelity & Guarantee Life
Fidelity Investments
Ford Motor Co.
Framatome
Franklin Templeton
General Electric
General Mills
General Motors
GlaxoSmithKline
Grand Expeditions
HSBC
Humana
Hy-Vee
J.D. Power and Associates
John Hancock
Johnson & Johnson
JP Morgan
Kemper Distributors
Leiner Health Products
Lincoln Financial
Lincoln Mercury
LPL Financial Services
Mass Mutual
MasterCard
McKinsey & Co.
Melaleuca
Meridian Health Systems
Merrill Lynch
Miracle-Ear
Monsanto
National Data Corp.
National Investment Center
New York Life
News Corporation
North Castle Partners
Northern Trust Corp.
Northwestern Mutual
Nu Skin
Old Mutual
PepsiCo
Perot Systems
Pfizer
Pharmacia
Philadelphia Stock Exchange
Pillsbury
Prudential
Prudential Real Estate
PSEG
Putnam
Sara Lee Corp.
Searle
Schering-Plough Corp.
Shared Medical Systems
Siemens Medical Solutions
Smith Barney
STAR Systems
State Farm
The Carlyle Group
The Concours Group
The Moorings
The Principal Financial Group
The Equitable
The Walt Disney Co.
Thrivent Financial
Time Warner, Inc.
Transamerica
TriZetto Group
TV Land
TXU
UBS
UniCare
Unum Provident Corp.
Vanguard
Virtuosos
Wachovia
Wells Fargo
Alliance of Chief Executives
American Academy for Anti-Aging Medicine
American Bankers Association
American College
American Compensation Association
American Health Care Association
American Hospital Association
American Society of Consultant Pharmacists
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
American Society on Aging
Assisted Living Federation of America
Assn. for Advanced Life Underwriters
Assn. Governing Boards of Colleges & Universities
Association of Travel Marketing Executives
Blue Cross Blue Shield
CalPERS
Conference for Advanced Life Underwriting
Convenience Retailing Leadership Network
Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association
Democratic Leadership Committee
Financial Planning Association of Northern CA
Financial Services Roundtable
GAMA International
Generic Pharmaceutical Association
Intl City/County Management Association
International Health, Racquet & Sports Assn.
International Mass Retail Association
International Monetary Fund
Institutional Limited Partners Assn.
Investment Company Institute
Life Insurance Marketing and Research Assn.
Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability
Magazine Publishers Association
Million Dollar Roundtable
National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies
National Association of Retail Druggists
National Association of Chain Drug Stores
National Association of State Retirement Administrators
National Basketball Association
National Food Processors Association
National Investment Company Service Assn.
National Managed Health Care Congress
Newspaper Assn. of America
Pharmaceutical Marketing Conference
Public Risk Management Association
Retail Advertising and Marketing Assn. International
Retail Council of Canada
Securities Industry Association
Society for Human Resource Management
Society of the Four Arts
Sports Executive Leadership Committee
The Business Council
US Chamber of Commerce
White House Conference on Aging
World at Work
World Economic Forum
World Future Society
World Economic Forum
Groundbreaking primary and secondary research, including segmentation
