Marketing Research applications
The baby boomer cohort is too large and diverse for the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 to be directly applicable in marketing; however this study serves as a broad brushstroke social research indicator that can be used to inform more targeted marketing research. The traditional economic model of planning for the future of baby boomers suffered from the classic downfall of placing its research ladder against the wrong wall; while much of the research was robust, working in a flawed contextual framework meant that it was misleading and inaccurate. The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 provides a behavioural contextual framework for further, more targeted research.
21 September 2009
Maori participation in the Baby Boom
Maori participation in the Baby Boom
Statistics New Zealand (1995) reports that Maori did not participate demographically in the post-war population boom of the 1940s and 1950s, because they were already on a steady and steep population growth path. There is also some question about whether Maori participated on the post-war period of economic plenty enjoyed by other sectors of the New Zealand community.
The Health, Work and Retirement Study (Allpass, 2008) is tracking Maori and Pacifica people and a comparative attitudinal study would inform those research findings with some insights into the motivations and intentions of these two important sectors.
Maori were underrepresented in the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study (4.1% participation, compared to a population of 13%), and there were not enough survey respondents to compare this segment with the main sample. The survey could not be weighted to more closely represent the Maori population, because there were too many unknown characteristics that may have influenced Maori responses. Any weighting assumptions could not have taken into account the peculiar social, cultural and economic profile of Maori respondents, making any subsequent conclusions unreliable.
There is an opportunity to launch a comparative Boomer Dreams Study among Maori, to answer the research question:
Are Maori the same as other New Zealand Boomers? How do their responses to a Boomer Dreams survey compare with non-Maori New Zealand baby boomers?
While internet penetration is high among Maori (78%), the low response rate for the online New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study suggests it may not be the best way to deliver a Maori Boomer Dreams survey as it has no face-to-face or peer component to add cultural appeal.
Statistics New Zealand (1995) reports that Maori did not participate demographically in the post-war population boom of the 1940s and 1950s, because they were already on a steady and steep population growth path. There is also some question about whether Maori participated on the post-war period of economic plenty enjoyed by other sectors of the New Zealand community.
The Health, Work and Retirement Study (Allpass, 2008) is tracking Maori and Pacifica people and a comparative attitudinal study would inform those research findings with some insights into the motivations and intentions of these two important sectors.
Maori were underrepresented in the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study (4.1% participation, compared to a population of 13%), and there were not enough survey respondents to compare this segment with the main sample. The survey could not be weighted to more closely represent the Maori population, because there were too many unknown characteristics that may have influenced Maori responses. Any weighting assumptions could not have taken into account the peculiar social, cultural and economic profile of Maori respondents, making any subsequent conclusions unreliable.
There is an opportunity to launch a comparative Boomer Dreams Study among Maori, to answer the research question:
Are Maori the same as other New Zealand Boomers? How do their responses to a Boomer Dreams survey compare with non-Maori New Zealand baby boomers?
While internet penetration is high among Maori (78%), the low response rate for the online New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study suggests it may not be the best way to deliver a Maori Boomer Dreams survey as it has no face-to-face or peer component to add cultural appeal.
NZ baby boomers and Generation Y
The outlook for Generation Y
Much has been written about the emerging new workforce, sometimes referred to as Generation Y. Given that the NZ Boomer Dreams Study 2009 found NZ baby boomers are similar in some respects but not the same as American baby boomers, the question arises: is the American concept of GenY valid for New Zealand?
That aside, Generation Y are the children of boomers and are the next generational cohort expected to impact on social structure (Generation X, like the Silent Generation, is a small population with indistinct social impact).
Th NZ boomer dreams study is not about Generation Y, but some observations can be made about how boomer intentions might impact on them.
The first significant finding is that New Zealand baby boomers have no intention of becoming a financial burden on them – they’re off the hook. Sadly, behind this finding is a realisation that Boomers intend the projected gap in workforce skills to be filled from their ranks, reducing the opportunity for Gen Y to springboard up into the gap without the same levels of experience or skills. This prospect has already raised resentment among some Gen Y authors, promoting “generational warfare” (Ryan, 2006) and leading to boomer bashing. However, the sheer size and force of the boomer generation is likely to see a paradigm shift in workforce and job design, with work/life balance becoming the norm in time for Gen Ys to enjoy the benefits of this work style throughout their careers.
The second significant finding is that baby boomer parents have no intention of abandoning their Gen Y offspring, and remain fiercely committed to their children’s success. Boomer parents keep their older children at home with them, with nearly 60% of boomer family households containing offspring over the age of 15. These offspring can also look forward to continued financial support from their parents, with 81% of New Zealand boomer parents intent on stepping up with their wallets, compared to just 53% of American boomers.
Much has been written about the emerging new workforce, sometimes referred to as Generation Y. Given that the NZ Boomer Dreams Study 2009 found NZ baby boomers are similar in some respects but not the same as American baby boomers, the question arises: is the American concept of GenY valid for New Zealand?
That aside, Generation Y are the children of boomers and are the next generational cohort expected to impact on social structure (Generation X, like the Silent Generation, is a small population with indistinct social impact).
Th NZ boomer dreams study is not about Generation Y, but some observations can be made about how boomer intentions might impact on them.
The first significant finding is that New Zealand baby boomers have no intention of becoming a financial burden on them – they’re off the hook. Sadly, behind this finding is a realisation that Boomers intend the projected gap in workforce skills to be filled from their ranks, reducing the opportunity for Gen Y to springboard up into the gap without the same levels of experience or skills. This prospect has already raised resentment among some Gen Y authors, promoting “generational warfare” (Ryan, 2006) and leading to boomer bashing. However, the sheer size and force of the boomer generation is likely to see a paradigm shift in workforce and job design, with work/life balance becoming the norm in time for Gen Ys to enjoy the benefits of this work style throughout their careers.
The second significant finding is that baby boomer parents have no intention of abandoning their Gen Y offspring, and remain fiercely committed to their children’s success. Boomer parents keep their older children at home with them, with nearly 60% of boomer family households containing offspring over the age of 15. These offspring can also look forward to continued financial support from their parents, with 81% of New Zealand boomer parents intent on stepping up with their wallets, compared to just 53% of American boomers.
Limitations of the NZ Boomer Dreams Study 2009
Limitations of the NZ Boomer Dreams Study 2009
No one research study can be universal - all have limitations, and this study is no exception.
This study measures the aspirations and stated intentions of New Zealand-resident baby boomers who have access to the internet. It does not purport to represent their actual behaviours. It presents a possible picture of how the target population would like to think their future will transpire, but does not measure any potential gaps between those desires and likely actual behaviour.
Excluded from the study are New Zealand baby boomers who do not currently have internet access, who form 11.4% of the baby boomer population. This study cannot be weighted to represent non-internet users as there are too many unknown characteristics likely to affect responses (for example, the impact of income level on both internet use and retirement choices).
Maori are underrepresented in the study in numbers too small to weight and, as with non-internet users; there are too many unknown characteristics likely to affect responses (for example, the impact of cultural perspectives and priorities on retirement choices).
Excluded from the study are the views of non-resident New Zealanders, who are currently estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands – there is no research into whether any of these citizens intend returning to their country of birth after they have enjoyed careers in other countries, and what their further work/life intentions might be if they do.
Excluded from the study are the views of other New Zealanders who were not born between 1946 and 1964. There is no measurement of whether the views of New Zealand baby boomers are different from the views of the whole population, or whether they are the prevailing social views of the day, and widely shared. There is research evidence that the views of baby boomers differ from those of predecessor generations in New Zealand and there is overseas research evidence to support the view that the behaviour of baby boomers generally differs from the rest of the population, however.
Excluded from the survey are the reactions of other sectors of the population to the stated intentions of baby boomers. While many boomers say they do not want to retire in the historic meaning of that word, younger generations of workers may react adversely to any perception of older workers staying in high paying jobs or “cherry picking” the most interesting projects. There is already some intergenerational conflict developing, as evidenced by books such as “Please just f* off: it’s our turn now” (Pluto Press, 2006) by 25-year-old Australian, Heath Ryan.
No one research study can be universal - all have limitations, and this study is no exception.
This study measures the aspirations and stated intentions of New Zealand-resident baby boomers who have access to the internet. It does not purport to represent their actual behaviours. It presents a possible picture of how the target population would like to think their future will transpire, but does not measure any potential gaps between those desires and likely actual behaviour.
Excluded from the study are New Zealand baby boomers who do not currently have internet access, who form 11.4% of the baby boomer population. This study cannot be weighted to represent non-internet users as there are too many unknown characteristics likely to affect responses (for example, the impact of income level on both internet use and retirement choices).
Maori are underrepresented in the study in numbers too small to weight and, as with non-internet users; there are too many unknown characteristics likely to affect responses (for example, the impact of cultural perspectives and priorities on retirement choices).
Excluded from the study are the views of non-resident New Zealanders, who are currently estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands – there is no research into whether any of these citizens intend returning to their country of birth after they have enjoyed careers in other countries, and what their further work/life intentions might be if they do.
Excluded from the study are the views of other New Zealanders who were not born between 1946 and 1964. There is no measurement of whether the views of New Zealand baby boomers are different from the views of the whole population, or whether they are the prevailing social views of the day, and widely shared. There is research evidence that the views of baby boomers differ from those of predecessor generations in New Zealand and there is overseas research evidence to support the view that the behaviour of baby boomers generally differs from the rest of the population, however.
Excluded from the survey are the reactions of other sectors of the population to the stated intentions of baby boomers. While many boomers say they do not want to retire in the historic meaning of that word, younger generations of workers may react adversely to any perception of older workers staying in high paying jobs or “cherry picking” the most interesting projects. There is already some intergenerational conflict developing, as evidenced by books such as “Please just f* off: it’s our turn now” (Pluto Press, 2006) by 25-year-old Australian, Heath Ryan.
NZ BOOMER DREAMS STUDY 2009 TOPLINE FINDINGS
NZ Boomer Dreams Study - Summary of Findings
New Zealand baby boomers have a distinct Antipodean character that differentiates them from other baby boomer populations, particular the American population. This finding is important because of the tendency of New Zealand planners to use plentiful American research as a proxy for New Zealand, given the dearth of social research available locally. The two populations are similar; they were after all forged in the same climate of sustained economic plenty and experienced largely the same social milestones. However, the New Zealand character is inherently different from the American character, and these differences have caused New Zealand baby boomers to react to their environment in different ways.
New Zealand baby boomers are notably “fizzier” and more physically vital and emotionally energetic than American baby boomers. They have a more outwardly focused social conscience and are less likely to pursue personal social causes to the same extent as their American counterparts. They also exhibit a greater degree of resilient optimism that has not been dented even by the 2009 economic recession that has hit their age group particularly hard.
The use of American research as proxy may explain why some policy planners, employers and recruiters (McPherson, 2008) have less favourable attitudes to New Zealand baby boomers. The American profile is more conservative, older in its attitudes, with segments that are relatively more entrenched in traditional models of pre-retirement than the New Zealand profile. The New Zealand profile is younger, more vibrant, more adventurous and searching – more like younger New Zealanders than older ones.
However both populations have much in common. Neither has any intention of retiring; both are gearing up to reinvent their lives and the concept of work (of which “job” is just a part), to their greater satisfaction. Both are on a never-ending search for meaning and self-actualisation; both want to enjoy every moment of the rest of their lives to the fullest, on their own terms; and both want to leave the world a better place when they die. But New Zealand baby boomers will do all of those things more proactively and with greater ingenuity.
The key finding of the US Boomer Dreams Study 2006 was that American baby boomers are in no mood to slow down - they want to stay involved, continue to indulge themselves and pursue their passions. They intend to remain at the centre of economic productivity and they don’t see the relevance of traditional concepts of retirement – after all, the rules don’t apply to them today any more than they ever did.
The New Zealand baby boomer study found a unique New Zealand character, but with the same intentions.
The implications for business, Government and the voluntary sector are significant. The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 is an attitudinal marker study. Further and more pinpointed research is required to fully understand the shape and nature of the changes New Zealand baby boomers will create around them; the challenge will be, as it has always been with baby boomers, to minimise the disruption caused by their wake.
The “golden years” ideal of retirement required that older people be willing to step back and let the next generation take charge, and the next generation be able to generate enough income to pay the cost of their elders’ retirement. The conclusion of this study is that the older people in question refuse to view themselves as “old”, are entirely unwilling to step back, are not prepared to let the next generation take charge and are not relying on the next generation to generate the income required to keep their elders in the style of elder-leisure they demand. They have no intention of “sponging” on the young and expect to pay their own way all their lives.
The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 addressed all of the research questions.
“Will New Zealand baby boomers retire gracefully at 65 to do charitable works?”
The hypothesis of this study was that, in large but not necessarily universal numbers, they will not, and the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 has provided evidence to support this hypothesis. New Zealand baby boomers will not retire gracefully; they are not the retiring sort.
The traditional economic contextual framework that assumes baby boomers will behave largely like the generation before them and according to a historical view of retired people is inaccurate, inadequate and unhelpful. The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 supports the view that the traditional economic model is far from the reality baby boomers intend for themselves.
Since the principal hypothesis (will they retire?) is found to be valid, a further question has arisen: “If they do not, then what?”
The hypothesis of this study was that New Zealand baby boomers would change the traditional work-life balance to enable them to “have it all” – fulfilling, meaningful work, continued affluence and leisure time to pursue their interests in family, travel and lifestyle preferences. This hypothesis is well supported by the research findings.
The second part of the principal hypothesis - will they do charitable works? – raised the question:
What are New Zealand baby boomers’ future intentions relating to voluntary participation in community activities and social causes?
New Zealand baby boomers are responsible and they will do charitable works. They do want to leave the world a better place. The answer to this question is of interest to New Zealand’s large (and expected to grow) voluntary sector, with implications for staffing, talent pool, costs and potential users of services in this sector. Changes in this sector pose consequent changes to the Government’s social planning and the provision of core social services.
This study answers the proxy question, “Are New Zealand baby boomers the same as baby boomers overseas, particularly in the USA (where research data is plentiful)?”
The hypothesis of this study was that New Zealand baby boomers are aligned with US boomers in their shared experiences of the formative events that united baby boomers as a generational cohort, such as a common sustained period of unbridled economic growth leading to the development of a culture of affluence. However, it was posited that there may well be cultural differences that separate the different populations. This was found to be the case, and should influence how much and in what ways we can continue to use overseas research as a proxy for predicting New Zealand baby boomer behaviour. This hypothesis was tested through the use of a comparative study; the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 being substantially comparable to the US Boomer Dreams Study 2006.
The summary finding is that New Zealand baby boomers are not the same as their American counterparts. They are similar in many respects, but they should be viewed independently or risk disadvantaging them and planning for the wrong outcomes.
Can American (in particular) research be used as a proxy in the absence of New Zealand research?
No, it should not. Failure to date to develop local attitudinal research in this area demonstrates either intellectual laziness or bureaucratic complacency and, in either case, a lack of foresight. The baby boomers have had a marked impact on New Zealand society across every life stage they have been through, yet planners have consistently failed to plan for the disruption their passing causes; if we do not want to end up in prefabricated rest homes and dying in prefabricated cemeteries, we need to predict with greater insight what boomers will do next.
NZ Boomers, their children and grandchildren
New Zealand baby boomers, their children and grandchildren
Thirty-eight percent of NZ baby boomers surveyed in the NZ Boomers Dreams Study 2009 were empty-nesters (couples whose children had left home) and 36% had children still living at home.
Of the 36% who said they had children at home, almost 60% (59.4%) of those households were comprised of older children (15 and over).
As a result of younger baby boomers delaying parenthood and an increase in divorce and second families, 3.6% of the children of New Zealand baby boomers are still pre-school age and 37% of boomers’ children are still at primary or secondary school.
Boomers’ babies continue to live in traditional households (88.9%) and can look forward to the ongoing financial support of their parents (80.8%, compared with 52.7% of US boomers).
Unlike the US, where 80% of boomer parents report they would like to focus more of their time and energy on their grandchildren, New Zealand baby boomer parents are no more likely than average boomers to want to be more involved than they currently are. It is not clear whether New Zealand boomers (45.6% less likely than US boomer parents to plan to spend more time with grandchildren) feel they already do spend sufficient time, whether New Zealand boomer grandparents are less involved than their American counterparts, or whether New Zealand baby boomer families have not yet progressed to grandparentage to the same levels as in the US. Younger New Zealand boomers are 6.2% more likely than their elders to have future plans for their grandchildren, but given the number of them with children still at home, having grandchildren may be a future aspiration rather than a current reality. In contrast, the aspiration to spend more time with family (children and grandchildren not differentiated) rated 5.9% higher among New Zealand boomer respondents than their American counterparts. This suggests the New Zealand baby boomer population isn’t finished with its children yet, and has yet to move on to grandchildren.
There is no conclusive evidence from the study to explain the disparity between US and New Zealand boomer grandparents’ devotion to future family generations, but the implications for business may mean an expected burgeoning of intergenerational entertainment industries (matinee theatre outings, shared holidays, indulgent toy purchasing) may not be replicated here. Businesses working in this area may find value in exploring this aspect of New Zealand boomer dreams in more depth.
Thirty-eight percent of NZ baby boomers surveyed in the NZ Boomers Dreams Study 2009 were empty-nesters (couples whose children had left home) and 36% had children still living at home.
Of the 36% who said they had children at home, almost 60% (59.4%) of those households were comprised of older children (15 and over).
As a result of younger baby boomers delaying parenthood and an increase in divorce and second families, 3.6% of the children of New Zealand baby boomers are still pre-school age and 37% of boomers’ children are still at primary or secondary school.
Boomers’ babies continue to live in traditional households (88.9%) and can look forward to the ongoing financial support of their parents (80.8%, compared with 52.7% of US boomers).
Unlike the US, where 80% of boomer parents report they would like to focus more of their time and energy on their grandchildren, New Zealand baby boomer parents are no more likely than average boomers to want to be more involved than they currently are. It is not clear whether New Zealand boomers (45.6% less likely than US boomer parents to plan to spend more time with grandchildren) feel they already do spend sufficient time, whether New Zealand boomer grandparents are less involved than their American counterparts, or whether New Zealand baby boomer families have not yet progressed to grandparentage to the same levels as in the US. Younger New Zealand boomers are 6.2% more likely than their elders to have future plans for their grandchildren, but given the number of them with children still at home, having grandchildren may be a future aspiration rather than a current reality. In contrast, the aspiration to spend more time with family (children and grandchildren not differentiated) rated 5.9% higher among New Zealand boomer respondents than their American counterparts. This suggests the New Zealand baby boomer population isn’t finished with its children yet, and has yet to move on to grandchildren.
There is no conclusive evidence from the study to explain the disparity between US and New Zealand boomer grandparents’ devotion to future family generations, but the implications for business may mean an expected burgeoning of intergenerational entertainment industries (matinee theatre outings, shared holidays, indulgent toy purchasing) may not be replicated here. Businesses working in this area may find value in exploring this aspect of New Zealand boomer dreams in more depth.
NZ baby boomers and volunteering
What are New Zealand baby boomers’ future intentions relating to voluntary participation in community activities and social causes?
Three-quarters of New Zealand baby boomers agree that if they are doing something they love, it doesn’t matter whether they get paid for it, while nearly two-thirds agree that they don’t have to have a job to feel good about themselves. This suggests they distinguish between the two and do not necessarily need to be tied to the workplace to meet their “meaning” needs. This is good news for the voluntary sector, which can tap into the New Zealand baby boomer thirst for purposeful endeavour, even without the money to pay them. Provided community organisations can deliver the opportunities to learn, grow and enhance the need baby boomers have to continue to matter, they will attract a large pool of talented and experienced volunteers.
Implications for the voluntary sector
Conventional wisdom suggests that if baby boomers do not retire in the traditional sense, they will have less time available to contribute to volunteering.
Maire Dwyer (2006) theorised that increased labour force participation by middle-aged women might reduce the supply of volunteers, due to more baby boomer women participating in the workforce than their predecessors, but that a greater capacity of “larger, healthier and better educated young-olds” might boost the skills and energy of the volunteer populations. The findings of the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 support that view.
The strong sense of responsibility felt by New Zealand baby boomers and their attitudes to vitality and work life balance mean that they will have time and energy that they are willing to contribute, and perhaps more significantly, high levels of expertise.
New Zealand baby boomers almost universally champion the obligation of responsibility over the assertion of personal rights. As a result, they are much less likely to get involved in politics or social causes that matter to them personally, and more likely to be interested in environmental issues (60%); in working to make the community a better place (70%); and giving more time (56%) or money (42%) to charity.
The next 40 years will present challenges and opportunities for the voluntary sector. They can expect an influx of committed baby boomer volunteers, but they should expect those volunteers to be as demanding, challenging and disruptive to the established way of doing things as this study has revealed in the New Zealand baby boomer character.
Dwyer (2006) posits that there will also be increased demand for volunteers to organise activities geared to the healthier, better educated baby boomers in search of leisure adventures. The findings of the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 support that view and suggest it will be other baby boomers who will fill these roles.
The good news is that while disruption is uncomfortable, it will breathe fresh life and new vigour into the voluntary sector.
This is the age when kaumatuatanga (the role and place of the respected, responsible elder generation) will come to the fore. Visionary service sector leaders can start planning to harness the potential of this new generation of volunteer workers, mentors and leaders.
The other significant implication for the voluntary sector is the need to recognise the fiercely independent and self-reliant streak in New Zealand baby boomers. Accustomed to forging their own path and taking responsibility for themselves all of their lives, they are less likely than their predecessor generation to ask for help when they need it, or accept help when it is offered. Social services providing assistance to the aged will need to develop strategies to connect with the ageing character of this ageless generation when they finally have to accept that life is no longer a set of endless opportunities, at least for them (and currently 92% of them are not prepared to entertain that notion).
Rather than planning for the provision of services to the elderly from 65 to 85, services in the voluntary sector for the aged should plan for their clients to come to them later and perhaps for shorter periods of time, premised on the idea that New Zealand baby boomers will keep themselves healthy for as long as possible, followed by a more rapid decline, rather than a lengthy period of inactivity and a long decline into old age.
Three-quarters of New Zealand baby boomers agree that if they are doing something they love, it doesn’t matter whether they get paid for it, while nearly two-thirds agree that they don’t have to have a job to feel good about themselves. This suggests they distinguish between the two and do not necessarily need to be tied to the workplace to meet their “meaning” needs. This is good news for the voluntary sector, which can tap into the New Zealand baby boomer thirst for purposeful endeavour, even without the money to pay them. Provided community organisations can deliver the opportunities to learn, grow and enhance the need baby boomers have to continue to matter, they will attract a large pool of talented and experienced volunteers.
Implications for the voluntary sector
Conventional wisdom suggests that if baby boomers do not retire in the traditional sense, they will have less time available to contribute to volunteering.
Maire Dwyer (2006) theorised that increased labour force participation by middle-aged women might reduce the supply of volunteers, due to more baby boomer women participating in the workforce than their predecessors, but that a greater capacity of “larger, healthier and better educated young-olds” might boost the skills and energy of the volunteer populations. The findings of the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 support that view.
The strong sense of responsibility felt by New Zealand baby boomers and their attitudes to vitality and work life balance mean that they will have time and energy that they are willing to contribute, and perhaps more significantly, high levels of expertise.
New Zealand baby boomers almost universally champion the obligation of responsibility over the assertion of personal rights. As a result, they are much less likely to get involved in politics or social causes that matter to them personally, and more likely to be interested in environmental issues (60%); in working to make the community a better place (70%); and giving more time (56%) or money (42%) to charity.
The next 40 years will present challenges and opportunities for the voluntary sector. They can expect an influx of committed baby boomer volunteers, but they should expect those volunteers to be as demanding, challenging and disruptive to the established way of doing things as this study has revealed in the New Zealand baby boomer character.
Dwyer (2006) posits that there will also be increased demand for volunteers to organise activities geared to the healthier, better educated baby boomers in search of leisure adventures. The findings of the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 support that view and suggest it will be other baby boomers who will fill these roles.
The good news is that while disruption is uncomfortable, it will breathe fresh life and new vigour into the voluntary sector.
This is the age when kaumatuatanga (the role and place of the respected, responsible elder generation) will come to the fore. Visionary service sector leaders can start planning to harness the potential of this new generation of volunteer workers, mentors and leaders.
The other significant implication for the voluntary sector is the need to recognise the fiercely independent and self-reliant streak in New Zealand baby boomers. Accustomed to forging their own path and taking responsibility for themselves all of their lives, they are less likely than their predecessor generation to ask for help when they need it, or accept help when it is offered. Social services providing assistance to the aged will need to develop strategies to connect with the ageing character of this ageless generation when they finally have to accept that life is no longer a set of endless opportunities, at least for them (and currently 92% of them are not prepared to entertain that notion).
Rather than planning for the provision of services to the elderly from 65 to 85, services in the voluntary sector for the aged should plan for their clients to come to them later and perhaps for shorter periods of time, premised on the idea that New Zealand baby boomers will keep themselves healthy for as long as possible, followed by a more rapid decline, rather than a lengthy period of inactivity and a long decline into old age.
New Zealand baby boomers are not retiring - Implications for social policy planning
Implications for social policy planning
New Zealand baby boomers are not retiring. They are fizzing with renewed vigour, working hard to fund their lifestyle choices, keeping themselves fit and planning for an active later life, rather than an infirm, sedentary one. They universally do not want the retirement their parents had and they see no reason why they should accept it. Nor do they intend to.
They are planning to start or run businesses, keep working where they are, keep up with technology and use it to work smarter; and they are in large numbers going to move to get more out of life and make the world a better place to live, for all New Zealanders. Public policy needs to be flexible and open-minded in order to foster this vital ingenuity and harness the resulting productivity benefit (which can be used to fund the social safety net baby boomers see as their right and responsibility). Maintaining rule-driven bureaucracies will only foster rule-avoidance.
Unlike their American counterparts, who worry about health but are not actively planning a solution, New Zealand baby boomers are taking control of their health prospects and are less likely to become the health burden projected by traditional economic models and that are currently being tracked in the Health, Work and Retirement Study (Allpass, 2008). New Zealand baby boomers see maintaining their health and fitness as an essential driver enabling them to fulfill all of their plans for a vibrant and affluent future. There is an opportunity to develop health policy that empowers and incentivises them to keep themselves fit so they can stay productive and pursue their dreams.
The voluntary sector is significant and likely to rise in significance over the next 40 years. Baby boomers are prepared to do their part in this sector with both time and money, but a large influx of support may overwhelm the sector at the beginning and it may require some structural assistance to assimilate baby boomer contributors.
There is no point in making public policy rules about how members of this generation should behave once they turn 65, or of continuing to fiddle with economic indicators within the constraints of the traditional economic model. This is akin to placing a ladder against the wrong wall –energy can be expended on scaling the wall, but achieve nothing because the real change is going on elsewhere.
The inflexibility of the elderly dependency ratio to cope with new definitions of work for those over 65 makes it defunct. Changing the age of entitlement to 67 or another number is likewise not going to make a difference.
New Zealand baby boomers are notorious for shrugging off rules – because they view rules as simply not applying to them – and finding an ingenious way around to get what they want. Economists and social planners can calculate projected retirement rates, social burden ratios and rest home bed requirements as much as they like, but it would be a mistake to start building rest homes just yet, because New Zealand baby boomers have no intention of filling them.
They will tell policy planners what they want, if they are asked, provided the contextual framework for seeking their feedback is based on them and not the generation before them. After all, all baby boomers see themselves as special, and New Zealand baby boomers see themselves as more special than most.
Not only do New Zealand baby boomers have no intention of becoming a drain on the workforce, but they will continue to add their prodigious productivity to the nation’s coffers. Not only will they not leave a hole in the workforce, they will focus on enhancing their skills to fills the gaps created by changes of work style. Baby boomers are a highly productive generation, well educated, experienced and ingenious; harnessing and channelling their productivity and thirst for intellectual, emotional and physical adventure presents a far greater challenge for social policy planners than counting the pension pennies they may not need.
The challenge for public policy development is how best to structure a framework that will allow New Zealand baby boomers to be self-sufficient and self-responsible, while remembering that, as with all attitudinal research that talks about majorities, there will still be people who want a traditional retirement lifestyle, even if not as many as feared.
New Zealand baby boomers are not retiring. They are fizzing with renewed vigour, working hard to fund their lifestyle choices, keeping themselves fit and planning for an active later life, rather than an infirm, sedentary one. They universally do not want the retirement their parents had and they see no reason why they should accept it. Nor do they intend to.
They are planning to start or run businesses, keep working where they are, keep up with technology and use it to work smarter; and they are in large numbers going to move to get more out of life and make the world a better place to live, for all New Zealanders. Public policy needs to be flexible and open-minded in order to foster this vital ingenuity and harness the resulting productivity benefit (which can be used to fund the social safety net baby boomers see as their right and responsibility). Maintaining rule-driven bureaucracies will only foster rule-avoidance.
Unlike their American counterparts, who worry about health but are not actively planning a solution, New Zealand baby boomers are taking control of their health prospects and are less likely to become the health burden projected by traditional economic models and that are currently being tracked in the Health, Work and Retirement Study (Allpass, 2008). New Zealand baby boomers see maintaining their health and fitness as an essential driver enabling them to fulfill all of their plans for a vibrant and affluent future. There is an opportunity to develop health policy that empowers and incentivises them to keep themselves fit so they can stay productive and pursue their dreams.
The voluntary sector is significant and likely to rise in significance over the next 40 years. Baby boomers are prepared to do their part in this sector with both time and money, but a large influx of support may overwhelm the sector at the beginning and it may require some structural assistance to assimilate baby boomer contributors.
There is no point in making public policy rules about how members of this generation should behave once they turn 65, or of continuing to fiddle with economic indicators within the constraints of the traditional economic model. This is akin to placing a ladder against the wrong wall –energy can be expended on scaling the wall, but achieve nothing because the real change is going on elsewhere.
The inflexibility of the elderly dependency ratio to cope with new definitions of work for those over 65 makes it defunct. Changing the age of entitlement to 67 or another number is likewise not going to make a difference.
New Zealand baby boomers are notorious for shrugging off rules – because they view rules as simply not applying to them – and finding an ingenious way around to get what they want. Economists and social planners can calculate projected retirement rates, social burden ratios and rest home bed requirements as much as they like, but it would be a mistake to start building rest homes just yet, because New Zealand baby boomers have no intention of filling them.
They will tell policy planners what they want, if they are asked, provided the contextual framework for seeking their feedback is based on them and not the generation before them. After all, all baby boomers see themselves as special, and New Zealand baby boomers see themselves as more special than most.
Not only do New Zealand baby boomers have no intention of becoming a drain on the workforce, but they will continue to add their prodigious productivity to the nation’s coffers. Not only will they not leave a hole in the workforce, they will focus on enhancing their skills to fills the gaps created by changes of work style. Baby boomers are a highly productive generation, well educated, experienced and ingenious; harnessing and channelling their productivity and thirst for intellectual, emotional and physical adventure presents a far greater challenge for social policy planners than counting the pension pennies they may not need.
The challenge for public policy development is how best to structure a framework that will allow New Zealand baby boomers to be self-sufficient and self-responsible, while remembering that, as with all attitudinal research that talks about majorities, there will still be people who want a traditional retirement lifestyle, even if not as many as feared.
Will New Zealand baby boomers retire gracefully at 65 to do charitable works?
“Will New Zealand baby boomers retire gracefully at 65 to do charitable works?”
No, they will not, and yes, they will. They will, in very large numbers, not retire. But they will do charitable works.
They won’t retire because they don’t feel old, they are full of youthful spirit and not at all ready to remove themselves from the mainstream, from mattering and from making a difference, or from enjoying the fruits of their labours.
It is not part of the New Zealand baby boomer character to give up and do nothing for 30-40 years. The vitality that is an essential part of their character drives them to greater adventurousness, fitness, and personal enlightenment. They are prepared to take responsibility for themselves and their families, and assume roles or responsibility in the wider community, paid or unpaid.
Meaningful work matters to them, and New Zealand baby boomers find meaning and purpose in their jobs, which they will not yield. However, they will use their ingenuity to find ways around the rules and conventions of the traditional workplace to get the balance of work, adventure, personal enrichment and fitness they want. In numbers as large as the baby boomer cohort possesses, what begins as ingenious ways around the rules will quickly become accepted workplace convention.
They are self-determined and will seek opportunities to learn new things within the workplace and in the community, and a new wave of “elderpreneurs” will emerge; indeed it is arguable that this phenomenon has already begun to emerge.
The core vitality of New Zealand baby boomers will continue to make them valuable, productive contributors in the workplace – if employers can keep them there. 30% plan to start a new career; 38% say they will be running their own business, 21% will start one.
New Zealand baby boomers, after all, see endless opportunities before them and have very low resistance to change. They are risk takers and they back themselves. They are currently at the height of their productivity, retain youthful, vigorous approach to work, and exhibit a great capacity to continue to learn; unless the workplace engages and continues to challenge them, they will move on to new career adventures.
Whether they work for others or for themselves, two-thirds of New Zealand baby boomers will focus their energies and invest their time in the next 5-10 years on excelling at their job and at passing on their skills to others. Their desire to engage in meaningful work for many more years as well as pursue their other life adventures and responsibilities will balance well with the need to retain their expertise in the workplace while still making room for the generations behind them to progress. The lack of barriers New Zealand baby boomers see between themselves and younger people will enable them to integrate and share their skills.
The sense among New Zealand baby boomers that they distinguish meaningful work from the workplace will inform the wave of research currently underway in New Zealand (Allpass, 2008; McPherson, 2008), which is revealing what new workplace trends are beginning to emerge and asking questions about why they are emerging. They are emerging because baby boomers are starting to find ingenious ways around the current conventions of the workplace; with the force of a million baby boomers behind it, this trend will explode into the mainstream over the next 10-20 years.
New Zealand baby boomers are hungry for new experiences, adventures, and learning. This characteristic is prevalent in baby boomers but not in the generational cohorts before them. It is counter-intuitive to the traditional view that “old people” are overwhelmed by how much information is now available to them, and suggests that baby boomers are prepared to use technology to help them gather the information they need. The challenge to business is to throw off their historically-based preconceptions of how they believe baby boomers should behave as workers, because baby boomers will not act their age; neither will older baby boomers exhibit the conservatism of their American counterparts, making proxy assumptions unreliable.
The global wave of baby boomers is likely to see a push for different benefits in the work environment.
Jobs to attract baby boomers will offer less stress, lots of social connection, more flexible working hours and conditions, and a chance to learn – these things are more highly valued than money. New Zealand baby boomers, like their American counterparts, are looking for jobs with a mission that offers them opportunities to continue to grow.
No, they will not, and yes, they will. They will, in very large numbers, not retire. But they will do charitable works.
They won’t retire because they don’t feel old, they are full of youthful spirit and not at all ready to remove themselves from the mainstream, from mattering and from making a difference, or from enjoying the fruits of their labours.
It is not part of the New Zealand baby boomer character to give up and do nothing for 30-40 years. The vitality that is an essential part of their character drives them to greater adventurousness, fitness, and personal enlightenment. They are prepared to take responsibility for themselves and their families, and assume roles or responsibility in the wider community, paid or unpaid.
Meaningful work matters to them, and New Zealand baby boomers find meaning and purpose in their jobs, which they will not yield. However, they will use their ingenuity to find ways around the rules and conventions of the traditional workplace to get the balance of work, adventure, personal enrichment and fitness they want. In numbers as large as the baby boomer cohort possesses, what begins as ingenious ways around the rules will quickly become accepted workplace convention.
They are self-determined and will seek opportunities to learn new things within the workplace and in the community, and a new wave of “elderpreneurs” will emerge; indeed it is arguable that this phenomenon has already begun to emerge.
The core vitality of New Zealand baby boomers will continue to make them valuable, productive contributors in the workplace – if employers can keep them there. 30% plan to start a new career; 38% say they will be running their own business, 21% will start one.
New Zealand baby boomers, after all, see endless opportunities before them and have very low resistance to change. They are risk takers and they back themselves. They are currently at the height of their productivity, retain youthful, vigorous approach to work, and exhibit a great capacity to continue to learn; unless the workplace engages and continues to challenge them, they will move on to new career adventures.
Whether they work for others or for themselves, two-thirds of New Zealand baby boomers will focus their energies and invest their time in the next 5-10 years on excelling at their job and at passing on their skills to others. Their desire to engage in meaningful work for many more years as well as pursue their other life adventures and responsibilities will balance well with the need to retain their expertise in the workplace while still making room for the generations behind them to progress. The lack of barriers New Zealand baby boomers see between themselves and younger people will enable them to integrate and share their skills.
The sense among New Zealand baby boomers that they distinguish meaningful work from the workplace will inform the wave of research currently underway in New Zealand (Allpass, 2008; McPherson, 2008), which is revealing what new workplace trends are beginning to emerge and asking questions about why they are emerging. They are emerging because baby boomers are starting to find ingenious ways around the current conventions of the workplace; with the force of a million baby boomers behind it, this trend will explode into the mainstream over the next 10-20 years.
New Zealand baby boomers are hungry for new experiences, adventures, and learning. This characteristic is prevalent in baby boomers but not in the generational cohorts before them. It is counter-intuitive to the traditional view that “old people” are overwhelmed by how much information is now available to them, and suggests that baby boomers are prepared to use technology to help them gather the information they need. The challenge to business is to throw off their historically-based preconceptions of how they believe baby boomers should behave as workers, because baby boomers will not act their age; neither will older baby boomers exhibit the conservatism of their American counterparts, making proxy assumptions unreliable.
The global wave of baby boomers is likely to see a push for different benefits in the work environment.
Jobs to attract baby boomers will offer less stress, lots of social connection, more flexible working hours and conditions, and a chance to learn – these things are more highly valued than money. New Zealand baby boomers, like their American counterparts, are looking for jobs with a mission that offers them opportunities to continue to grow.
Are NZ baby boomers the same as American baby boomers?
Are New Zealand baby boomers the same as baby boomers overseas? Can American (in particular) research be used as a proxy in the absence of New Zealand research?
The short answers is no, they are not. New Zealand baby boomers are similar to their American counterparts in some ways, but differ significantly in some key areas. The differences are sufficient to conclude that it is ill-advised and misleading to use American research as a proxy in New Zealand, even at the broad brushstroke social research level of the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study.
New Zealand and American baby boomers share a number of the same traits, but not quite to the same degree, and the values that back up these traits are different.
New Zealanders are more passionate about their lifestyle choices, with their top ten focus choices being preferred by more than 80% of respondents, compared to the US top ten which were preferred by 67 to 77% of their respondents. New Zealand baby boomers tend to exhibit a more youthful and vigorous profile than their American counterparts, with more focus on outgoing adventurousness and less on fighting for social causes.
In the mid-range of differences (where there is 5-20% variance between the preferences of the two populations), New Zealand boomers invariably opt for adventurous lifestyle choices over social cause choices.
New Zealand baby boomers are more than 20% more likely to play sport, enjoy life’s luxuries and travel the world than American boomers. They are over 20% less likely to get involved in politics, share their religious beliefs with others or spend more time or money on grandchildren.
Huber & Skidmore (2003) identified two distinctive characteristics among UK baby boomers, individualism and liberalism.
Smith & Clurman (2007) identified similar characteristics of youthfulness (immortality) and morality, with the youthfulness characteristic dominant.
New Zealand baby boomers exhibit a similar youthful character aspect, also dominant, but not in the same way as the American profile. What makes New Zealand baby boomers distinct from baby boomers from anywhere else is their Vitality. They are “fizzier” than both American and British baby boomers, passionate and opinionated, fiercely independent in their individuality. They are less likely to break the rules and more likely to simply assume the rules don’t apply to them; fitness is an important dimension of their vital character, and they pursue novelty as part of a wider quest for adventure, rather than as a separate dimension. The self-focused aspects of personal enrichment enhance their vitality, and the rugged individuality that is part of the broader New Zealand character is interpreted within the baby boomer life experience.
Smith & Clurman’s second baby boomer character aspect of morality is not present in the New Zealand population in the way that it is in the USA.
New Zealand is an egalitarian, secular society with broad liberal views and a live-and-let-live pragmatism about moral issues. That said, New Zealand baby boomers have a strong sense of right and wrong, and of their responsibility to take care of themselves, their families and their wider community. They are less “comfortably righteous” in their sense of purpose than their American counterparts, but they do search for meaning.
Balancing the youthful hedonism and vitality of New Zealand baby boomers is a strongly adult sense of responsibility, rather than morality. It has four key dimensions, some of which are similar to American characteristics, but sufficiently different to distinguish a separate and independent New Zealand baby boomer character.
Having established that the New Zealand baby boomer character is different from the American character and different again (although little comparative data is available) from British baby boomers, the question arises as to whether that matters and the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 finds that it does; New Zealand baby boomers respond to their surroundings, dream different dreams and worry about different things – indeed, they worry less about different things - than baby boomers elsewhere.
Aside from a current high level of concern about finance company collapses eroding their savings, New Zealand baby boomers’ top concern is health. This information is comparable to the findings of the Health, Work and Retirement Study (Allpass, 2008).
While American baby boomers also worry about their health, more than 70% of them worry more about how they’re going to pay for it (health insurance). This difference is almost certainly due to the differences in state-funded healthcare in the two countries and raises questions about the relationship between the self-reliance New Zealand baby boomers feel, and the sense of security they gain from having a state safety net of core social services. There may be a relationship between the willingness of New Zealand baby boomers to take risks and be adventuresome and ingenious, and their peculiarly resilient optimism; and the security of knowing that safety net is there. Removing it by creating barriers to eligibility (such as means testing or raising the age of entitlement) could have unintended adverse consequences; steps should be taken to explore this apparent correlation prior to such actions being considered.
Overall, what worries New Zealand baby boomers and what worries American baby boomers differ somewhat. While an analysis of the variations in concern-responses between the two populations shows a large outlier for “Not being current on what’s going on”, with New Zealand baby boomers 31% more likely to rate this as a worry, it is still only thirteenth on the list for New Zealanders, concerning just 40% of them. In all other respects, the comparison shows the New Zealand baby boomers worry more than American baby boomers, but not significantly overall.
Understanding the baby boomer character is key to interpreting their behaviour and predicting what they might do next; one thing is already known and that is that whatever they do, it will not be what they generation before them has done. One of the key findings of the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 is that it will also not be the same as American baby boomers.
New Zealand baby boomers are vital, energetic, up with the play and highly engaged with life. They have experience, confidence, and boundless optimism that is resilient even in the face of adversity. They have no intention of acting their age and no intention of settling down to a quiet retirement. They enjoy the good things in life – in fact, they want to enjoy more of them – and they are prepared to put in the work to pay for them. Their high level of engagement extends socially and they are likely to be involved in all areas of both the paid and unpaid economies; it will be impossible to legislate them into defined behaviours or areas of the community, because of their individualism and conviction that the rules simply don’t apply to them. With great ingenuity, they will find a way around any barrier in their pursuit of adventure and meaning. They will shoulder their responsibilities, to themselves, within their families, and in the broader social context.
The short answers is no, they are not. New Zealand baby boomers are similar to their American counterparts in some ways, but differ significantly in some key areas. The differences are sufficient to conclude that it is ill-advised and misleading to use American research as a proxy in New Zealand, even at the broad brushstroke social research level of the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study.
New Zealand and American baby boomers share a number of the same traits, but not quite to the same degree, and the values that back up these traits are different.
New Zealanders are more passionate about their lifestyle choices, with their top ten focus choices being preferred by more than 80% of respondents, compared to the US top ten which were preferred by 67 to 77% of their respondents. New Zealand baby boomers tend to exhibit a more youthful and vigorous profile than their American counterparts, with more focus on outgoing adventurousness and less on fighting for social causes.
In the mid-range of differences (where there is 5-20% variance between the preferences of the two populations), New Zealand boomers invariably opt for adventurous lifestyle choices over social cause choices.
New Zealand baby boomers are more than 20% more likely to play sport, enjoy life’s luxuries and travel the world than American boomers. They are over 20% less likely to get involved in politics, share their religious beliefs with others or spend more time or money on grandchildren.
Huber & Skidmore (2003) identified two distinctive characteristics among UK baby boomers, individualism and liberalism.
Smith & Clurman (2007) identified similar characteristics of youthfulness (immortality) and morality, with the youthfulness characteristic dominant.
New Zealand baby boomers exhibit a similar youthful character aspect, also dominant, but not in the same way as the American profile. What makes New Zealand baby boomers distinct from baby boomers from anywhere else is their Vitality. They are “fizzier” than both American and British baby boomers, passionate and opinionated, fiercely independent in their individuality. They are less likely to break the rules and more likely to simply assume the rules don’t apply to them; fitness is an important dimension of their vital character, and they pursue novelty as part of a wider quest for adventure, rather than as a separate dimension. The self-focused aspects of personal enrichment enhance their vitality, and the rugged individuality that is part of the broader New Zealand character is interpreted within the baby boomer life experience.
Smith & Clurman’s second baby boomer character aspect of morality is not present in the New Zealand population in the way that it is in the USA.
New Zealand is an egalitarian, secular society with broad liberal views and a live-and-let-live pragmatism about moral issues. That said, New Zealand baby boomers have a strong sense of right and wrong, and of their responsibility to take care of themselves, their families and their wider community. They are less “comfortably righteous” in their sense of purpose than their American counterparts, but they do search for meaning.
Balancing the youthful hedonism and vitality of New Zealand baby boomers is a strongly adult sense of responsibility, rather than morality. It has four key dimensions, some of which are similar to American characteristics, but sufficiently different to distinguish a separate and independent New Zealand baby boomer character.
Having established that the New Zealand baby boomer character is different from the American character and different again (although little comparative data is available) from British baby boomers, the question arises as to whether that matters and the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 finds that it does; New Zealand baby boomers respond to their surroundings, dream different dreams and worry about different things – indeed, they worry less about different things - than baby boomers elsewhere.
Aside from a current high level of concern about finance company collapses eroding their savings, New Zealand baby boomers’ top concern is health. This information is comparable to the findings of the Health, Work and Retirement Study (Allpass, 2008).
While American baby boomers also worry about their health, more than 70% of them worry more about how they’re going to pay for it (health insurance). This difference is almost certainly due to the differences in state-funded healthcare in the two countries and raises questions about the relationship between the self-reliance New Zealand baby boomers feel, and the sense of security they gain from having a state safety net of core social services. There may be a relationship between the willingness of New Zealand baby boomers to take risks and be adventuresome and ingenious, and their peculiarly resilient optimism; and the security of knowing that safety net is there. Removing it by creating barriers to eligibility (such as means testing or raising the age of entitlement) could have unintended adverse consequences; steps should be taken to explore this apparent correlation prior to such actions being considered.
Overall, what worries New Zealand baby boomers and what worries American baby boomers differ somewhat. While an analysis of the variations in concern-responses between the two populations shows a large outlier for “Not being current on what’s going on”, with New Zealand baby boomers 31% more likely to rate this as a worry, it is still only thirteenth on the list for New Zealanders, concerning just 40% of them. In all other respects, the comparison shows the New Zealand baby boomers worry more than American baby boomers, but not significantly overall.
Understanding the baby boomer character is key to interpreting their behaviour and predicting what they might do next; one thing is already known and that is that whatever they do, it will not be what they generation before them has done. One of the key findings of the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 is that it will also not be the same as American baby boomers.
New Zealand baby boomers are vital, energetic, up with the play and highly engaged with life. They have experience, confidence, and boundless optimism that is resilient even in the face of adversity. They have no intention of acting their age and no intention of settling down to a quiet retirement. They enjoy the good things in life – in fact, they want to enjoy more of them – and they are prepared to put in the work to pay for them. Their high level of engagement extends socially and they are likely to be involved in all areas of both the paid and unpaid economies; it will be impossible to legislate them into defined behaviours or areas of the community, because of their individualism and conviction that the rules simply don’t apply to them. With great ingenuity, they will find a way around any barrier in their pursuit of adventure and meaning. They will shoulder their responsibilities, to themselves, within their families, and in the broader social context.
What worries NZ baby boomers
Concerns
Contrary to popular advice, New Zealand baby boomers do not intend to spend the next five to ten years worrying whether they will have enough money to get by.
While 80% aspire to be financially secure at a level that will fund their desired lifestyle, the focus of their energies over the next decade will be on maintaining their vitality. And New Zealand baby boomers overwhelmingly see health as their key to that vitality.
Health is the number one issue that worries New Zealand baby boomers
The number one issue for New Zealand baby boomers going forward is the preservation of their health and vitality. It is the single biggest issue that worries more than two thirds of New Zealand baby boomers. This finding supports earlier research by the EEO Trust (McGregor, 2006) that found half (49%) of retired respondents to its survey cited health as the most important factor that had caused their retirement. More than 91% of New Zealand baby boomers are likely to make health their priority over the next 5-10 years and almost 80% say they are concerned about trying to stay in shape. They universally (95%) agree that health is the driver to being able to do what they want and that in the future, older people will be much more active and engaged than older people in the past (94%). Baby boomers do not see any reason why they should have to feel less vital and energetic as they get older (89%).
Getting sick and frail, losing their mental sharpness, losing their ability to live independently and being short of energy and vitality are the things they worry about most.
Yet nearly 70% of them do not feel confident the New Zealand health and social welfare system will be able to support them as they age.
Apart from wanting to have enough money to get by on (61%), financial concerns do not rank highly for more than half of New Zealand baby boomers. This is with the exception of a high ranking for the concern, “external factors you can’t plan for eroding your savings” (65% of New Zealand baby boomers are concerned), which is a direct response to the effects of the 2009 financial crisis on finance company savings.
Concerns of New Zealand baby boomers
69% Getting sick and frail
67% Not being mentally sharp
66% Being able to live independently
65% External factors you can't plan for eroding your savings
64% Being short of energy and vitality
61% Having enough money to get by on
60% No longer being able to live life to the fullest
59% Being in charge of your affairs
51% Having sufficient health-care insurance coverage
47% Being treated as an old person
43% Being stuck doing the same old things every day
42% Being bored with your life
40% Not being current on what's going on
40% Not being taken seriously
40% Living somewhere that is not vibrant and exciting
39% Having enough to do and keep busy
38% Not being able to live in your current home
37% Being relegated to the sidelines
29% Not having the opportunity to be in charge of something
28% Finding a community of other people to be with
28% Being taken advantage of in some scam
20% Not being involved in social causes
Source: New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009, n = 754
“How concerned are you about each of the following?” 7 point scale.
American baby boomers also worry about their health, but their concerns are tempered by their greater worry (at 70%, the greatest worry reported in either list) of how they are going to pay for it. New Zealand baby boomers’ concerns remain cushioned by the social welfare system, despite their lack of confidence in it.
Contrary to popular advice, New Zealand baby boomers do not intend to spend the next five to ten years worrying whether they will have enough money to get by.
While 80% aspire to be financially secure at a level that will fund their desired lifestyle, the focus of their energies over the next decade will be on maintaining their vitality. And New Zealand baby boomers overwhelmingly see health as their key to that vitality.
Health is the number one issue that worries New Zealand baby boomers
The number one issue for New Zealand baby boomers going forward is the preservation of their health and vitality. It is the single biggest issue that worries more than two thirds of New Zealand baby boomers. This finding supports earlier research by the EEO Trust (McGregor, 2006) that found half (49%) of retired respondents to its survey cited health as the most important factor that had caused their retirement. More than 91% of New Zealand baby boomers are likely to make health their priority over the next 5-10 years and almost 80% say they are concerned about trying to stay in shape. They universally (95%) agree that health is the driver to being able to do what they want and that in the future, older people will be much more active and engaged than older people in the past (94%). Baby boomers do not see any reason why they should have to feel less vital and energetic as they get older (89%).
Getting sick and frail, losing their mental sharpness, losing their ability to live independently and being short of energy and vitality are the things they worry about most.
Yet nearly 70% of them do not feel confident the New Zealand health and social welfare system will be able to support them as they age.
Apart from wanting to have enough money to get by on (61%), financial concerns do not rank highly for more than half of New Zealand baby boomers. This is with the exception of a high ranking for the concern, “external factors you can’t plan for eroding your savings” (65% of New Zealand baby boomers are concerned), which is a direct response to the effects of the 2009 financial crisis on finance company savings.
Concerns of New Zealand baby boomers
69% Getting sick and frail
67% Not being mentally sharp
66% Being able to live independently
65% External factors you can't plan for eroding your savings
64% Being short of energy and vitality
61% Having enough money to get by on
60% No longer being able to live life to the fullest
59% Being in charge of your affairs
51% Having sufficient health-care insurance coverage
47% Being treated as an old person
43% Being stuck doing the same old things every day
42% Being bored with your life
40% Not being current on what's going on
40% Not being taken seriously
40% Living somewhere that is not vibrant and exciting
39% Having enough to do and keep busy
38% Not being able to live in your current home
37% Being relegated to the sidelines
29% Not having the opportunity to be in charge of something
28% Finding a community of other people to be with
28% Being taken advantage of in some scam
20% Not being involved in social causes
Source: New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009, n = 754
“How concerned are you about each of the following?” 7 point scale.
American baby boomers also worry about their health, but their concerns are tempered by their greater worry (at 70%, the greatest worry reported in either list) of how they are going to pay for it. New Zealand baby boomers’ concerns remain cushioned by the social welfare system, despite their lack of confidence in it.
Ideal work environment for NZ baby boomers
Ideal Work Environment
In 2007 the Association of American Retired People (AARP) (Groeneman, 2008) conducted research into what the ideal workplace should look like for Americans aged 45 to 74 who were currently working or looking for work.
While the AARP’s study surveyed workers in the decade older than baby boomers as well as baby boomers themselves, and the New Zealand study included non-workers (but only of baby boomer age), comparisons can still be made between the American and New Zealand populations.
Notably, the top four most essential or important workplace benefits are the same in both populations, with “a chance to use your skills and talents” ranked as the single most important thing by almost 98% of New Zealand baby boomers and 91% of American workers. New Zealand workplaces that tap into this overwhelming need among baby boomers to utilise their skills and talents will both retain such workers and benefit from the loyalty and appreciation they are likely to receive as a result of responding to the need.
A friendly work environment, the chance to do something worthwhile and the need to feel respected by co-workers also rank consistently highly among New Zealanders and American older workers, with 92-98% of respondents valuing them. These findings are not unexpected when the characteristic need of baby boomers to pursue meaning and relevance are considered.
The need to feel respected by the boss ranked as “essential” for 52% of New Zealand respondents and “essential” or “important” for 91.3% of them, compared to 75% of American respondents. While its overall New Zealand ranking was an fifth, it was the second most essential workplace aspect for many respondents, making it important to most baby boomers but an essential deal-breaker for some. This finding may provide guidance for New Zealand employers struggling with “brain drain” coming from the top; it may also provide some insight into a growing tendency among some New Zealand baby boomers to leave their employers and start their own businesses.
Breeding a culture of respect from managers and between co-workers could be one of the most important challenges facing the workplace over the next 20-40 years.
In 2007 the Association of American Retired People (AARP) (Groeneman, 2008) conducted research into what the ideal workplace should look like for Americans aged 45 to 74 who were currently working or looking for work.
While the AARP’s study surveyed workers in the decade older than baby boomers as well as baby boomers themselves, and the New Zealand study included non-workers (but only of baby boomer age), comparisons can still be made between the American and New Zealand populations.
Notably, the top four most essential or important workplace benefits are the same in both populations, with “a chance to use your skills and talents” ranked as the single most important thing by almost 98% of New Zealand baby boomers and 91% of American workers. New Zealand workplaces that tap into this overwhelming need among baby boomers to utilise their skills and talents will both retain such workers and benefit from the loyalty and appreciation they are likely to receive as a result of responding to the need.
A friendly work environment, the chance to do something worthwhile and the need to feel respected by co-workers also rank consistently highly among New Zealanders and American older workers, with 92-98% of respondents valuing them. These findings are not unexpected when the characteristic need of baby boomers to pursue meaning and relevance are considered.
The need to feel respected by the boss ranked as “essential” for 52% of New Zealand respondents and “essential” or “important” for 91.3% of them, compared to 75% of American respondents. While its overall New Zealand ranking was an fifth, it was the second most essential workplace aspect for many respondents, making it important to most baby boomers but an essential deal-breaker for some. This finding may provide guidance for New Zealand employers struggling with “brain drain” coming from the top; it may also provide some insight into a growing tendency among some New Zealand baby boomers to leave their employers and start their own businesses.
Breeding a culture of respect from managers and between co-workers could be one of the most important challenges facing the workplace over the next 20-40 years.
NZ baby boomers and work
New Zealand baby boomers and work
Work provides meaning for New Zealand baby boomers. They universally (95%) feel they have been able to make a meaningful contribution in their job; 83% say work is important to their self-esteem and that it keeps them young (83%). For the vast majority of New Zealand baby boomers, work is an important part of who they are (80%). But they expect to have more than a job. Unlike their predecessor cohorts, they expect to get pleasure, satisfaction and fulfillment from their work (85% agree), and they want to continue to have opportunities to grow, learn and develop (78% agree).
They differentiate between meaningful work (which they value) and jobs. Two-thirds say they don’t need to have a job to feel good about themselves, yet they universally enjoy meaningful work. Three-quarters of New Zealand baby boomers say they would not be willing to work at a boring job even if the money were good, compared to 63% of US baby boomers.
Whether they work for others or for themselves, two-thirds of New Zealand baby boomers will focus their energies and invest their time in the next 5-10 years on excelling at their job.
The core vitality of New Zealand baby boomers will continue to make them valuable, productive contributors in the workplace – if employers can keep them there. 30% plan to start a new career; 38% say they will be running their own business, 21% will start one. 60% say they like the idea of starting a new career or job if and when they retire. Huber & Skidmore (2003), seeing similar trends overseas, described this as the “elderpreneur” phenomenon.
New Zealand baby boomers, after all, see endless opportunities before them and have very low resistance to change. They are risk takers and they back themselves (97% trust their own instincts). They are currently at the height of their productivity; retain youthful, vigorous approach to work, and exhibit a great capacity to continue to learn.
They are not slowing down. Eighty percent of New Zealand baby boomers say they would rather have too much to do and risk being stressed than too little and be bored; just half agree they have begun to slow down somewhat and two-thirds disagree with the statement, “All I want out of life is enough to be comfortable, more than that is not worth the effort”. They believe that hard work yields results (65%).
They do exhibit some characteristics commonly associated with more experienced workers, however. They have a strong moral core (82% have a clear sense of right and wrong) and support respect for New Zealand values (63%). Two-thirds agree their jobs have offered them security.
New Zealand Baby Boomers are hungry for information. They almost universally thirst to learn new skills (90%) and try to keep an eye out for new things to try and learn (88%).
They may not have been born into the computer age, but their willingness to adopt and enjoy new technology is universal – 98% agree with the statement, “the possibilities afforded us by technology are only going to continue to grow”. More significantly, 93% agree that they know how to use it to make their lives more interesting and enjoyable. This characteristic is prevalent in baby boomers but not in the generational cohorts before them. It is counter-intuitive to the traditional view that “old people” are overwhelmed by how much information is now available to them, and suggests that baby boomers are prepared to use technology to help them gather the information they need. Half of all New Zealand baby boomers say they like being the first to know about new technologies (a characteristic of innovators and early adopters) and they are, in general, 20% less likely than their American counterparts to lament that society has become too dependent on technology.
New Zealand baby boomers are well educated and experienced. Their vitality and adventurousness mean that they are constantly discovering new and better ways to do things and they are willing to teach them to others (86% agree).
They are good at teaching others and not so arrogant as to assume they have all the answers. They acknowledge the importance of learning from the past and doing things in a proven way (70% agree), but bring their characteristic sense of challenge into play against established and entrenched ways of doing things (88% say it’s important to continually challenge established ways of doing things). Three-quarters of New Zealand baby boomers say they are not interested in sticking to the “tried and true” if there is a new and better way of doing things.
As well as agreeing in large numbers that younger people have a lot to learn from their generation (89%, 4% less than US baby boomers), they also feel they have a lot to learn from younger people (85% agree, compared to just 68% of US baby boomers). They don’t see any reason why young people and older people can’t enjoy the same things (91% agree) and 92% say they like knowing what young people are doing and creating. This augers well for integration in the workplace and for succession planning.
New Zealand baby boomers have high expectations of employers too; 85% feel that businesses have a social responsibility to their employees and the community.
Work provides meaning for New Zealand baby boomers. They universally (95%) feel they have been able to make a meaningful contribution in their job; 83% say work is important to their self-esteem and that it keeps them young (83%). For the vast majority of New Zealand baby boomers, work is an important part of who they are (80%). But they expect to have more than a job. Unlike their predecessor cohorts, they expect to get pleasure, satisfaction and fulfillment from their work (85% agree), and they want to continue to have opportunities to grow, learn and develop (78% agree).
They differentiate between meaningful work (which they value) and jobs. Two-thirds say they don’t need to have a job to feel good about themselves, yet they universally enjoy meaningful work. Three-quarters of New Zealand baby boomers say they would not be willing to work at a boring job even if the money were good, compared to 63% of US baby boomers.
Whether they work for others or for themselves, two-thirds of New Zealand baby boomers will focus their energies and invest their time in the next 5-10 years on excelling at their job.
The core vitality of New Zealand baby boomers will continue to make them valuable, productive contributors in the workplace – if employers can keep them there. 30% plan to start a new career; 38% say they will be running their own business, 21% will start one. 60% say they like the idea of starting a new career or job if and when they retire. Huber & Skidmore (2003), seeing similar trends overseas, described this as the “elderpreneur” phenomenon.
New Zealand baby boomers, after all, see endless opportunities before them and have very low resistance to change. They are risk takers and they back themselves (97% trust their own instincts). They are currently at the height of their productivity; retain youthful, vigorous approach to work, and exhibit a great capacity to continue to learn.
They are not slowing down. Eighty percent of New Zealand baby boomers say they would rather have too much to do and risk being stressed than too little and be bored; just half agree they have begun to slow down somewhat and two-thirds disagree with the statement, “All I want out of life is enough to be comfortable, more than that is not worth the effort”. They believe that hard work yields results (65%).
They do exhibit some characteristics commonly associated with more experienced workers, however. They have a strong moral core (82% have a clear sense of right and wrong) and support respect for New Zealand values (63%). Two-thirds agree their jobs have offered them security.
New Zealand Baby Boomers are hungry for information. They almost universally thirst to learn new skills (90%) and try to keep an eye out for new things to try and learn (88%).
They may not have been born into the computer age, but their willingness to adopt and enjoy new technology is universal – 98% agree with the statement, “the possibilities afforded us by technology are only going to continue to grow”. More significantly, 93% agree that they know how to use it to make their lives more interesting and enjoyable. This characteristic is prevalent in baby boomers but not in the generational cohorts before them. It is counter-intuitive to the traditional view that “old people” are overwhelmed by how much information is now available to them, and suggests that baby boomers are prepared to use technology to help them gather the information they need. Half of all New Zealand baby boomers say they like being the first to know about new technologies (a characteristic of innovators and early adopters) and they are, in general, 20% less likely than their American counterparts to lament that society has become too dependent on technology.
New Zealand baby boomers are well educated and experienced. Their vitality and adventurousness mean that they are constantly discovering new and better ways to do things and they are willing to teach them to others (86% agree).
They are good at teaching others and not so arrogant as to assume they have all the answers. They acknowledge the importance of learning from the past and doing things in a proven way (70% agree), but bring their characteristic sense of challenge into play against established and entrenched ways of doing things (88% say it’s important to continually challenge established ways of doing things). Three-quarters of New Zealand baby boomers say they are not interested in sticking to the “tried and true” if there is a new and better way of doing things.
As well as agreeing in large numbers that younger people have a lot to learn from their generation (89%, 4% less than US baby boomers), they also feel they have a lot to learn from younger people (85% agree, compared to just 68% of US baby boomers). They don’t see any reason why young people and older people can’t enjoy the same things (91% agree) and 92% say they like knowing what young people are doing and creating. This augers well for integration in the workplace and for succession planning.
New Zealand baby boomers have high expectations of employers too; 85% feel that businesses have a social responsibility to their employees and the community.
What's important in future for baby boomers
In the New Zealand Boomer Dreams 2009 Study, New Zealand baby boomers were asked to use a seven-point scale to show how likely they were to focus their energies and invest their time over the next five to ten years, based on 65 different life choices.
The preservation of their vitality ranked very highly with New Zealand baby boomers, whose top-ranking choice was improving their fitness and health (91%). This choice was introduced in the New Zealand study and was not asked in the US study, following focus group comments that they saw good health as the key to being able to enjoy everything else life had to offer.
New Zealand boomers’ top ten list is:
Improving your fitness and health 91%**
Doing things you’ve always wanted to do 90%*
Reading more books 89%*
Having new adventures that are exciting and fun 88%*
Enjoying more leisure activities 88%**
Getting more out of life 87%*
Learning a new skill or hobby 84%*
Making new friends 83%*
Having enough money to get by 82%
Travelling and seeing the world 81%
Taking more control over your future 81%*
* appears on both top ten lists
** not asked in US study
The preservation of their vitality ranked very highly with New Zealand baby boomers, whose top-ranking choice was improving their fitness and health (91%). This choice was introduced in the New Zealand study and was not asked in the US study, following focus group comments that they saw good health as the key to being able to enjoy everything else life had to offer.
New Zealand boomers’ top ten list is:
Improving your fitness and health 91%**
Doing things you’ve always wanted to do 90%*
Reading more books 89%*
Having new adventures that are exciting and fun 88%*
Enjoying more leisure activities 88%**
Getting more out of life 87%*
Learning a new skill or hobby 84%*
Making new friends 83%*
Having enough money to get by 82%
Travelling and seeing the world 81%
Taking more control over your future 81%*
* appears on both top ten lists
** not asked in US study
Sense of Responsibility
Balancing the youthful hedonism and vitality of New Zealand baby boomers is a strongly adult sense of responsibility, with four key dimensions: Self-determination, Meaning, Kaumatuatanga (respected responsible elders), and Social Responsibility.
Self-determination
New Zealand baby boomers are fiercely self-determined and independent, and have no intention of stepping back and letting the next generation take charge of their lives (84% disagree that the future belongs to the next generation and that their generation will have little to do with it). They have no intention of “sponging” on the young – 87% of them say they expect to pay their own way all their lives.
While flexible and comfortable with change, they will take control over their future (81%) in larger numbers than their American counterparts (74%). 72% of them have a plan for their future and are on track to achieve it. 76% say they will carve out their own future path. However, they are unlikely to campaign for all baby boomers to be treated the same way; they believe strongly in an individual’s right to do their own thing (81%, compared to 65% of US boomers), and they still believe that superannuation should be provided (62% agree) and that healthcare should be a universal right, even if they are not confident the system will be able to provide it (30% agree).
They are more likely to take personal responsibility for their financial wellbeing. While New Zealand baby boomers have ambitious plans to enjoy the next few decades, they are prepared to make sure they are financially secure so that they can fund their lifestyle choices (80%). They also plan to ensure they have enough money to get by, (82%, compared with 72% of US baby boomers), and they are taking responsibility for planning their own retirements (72%, compared to 68% in the US).
Recognising that health is the driver to them being able to do what they like (95% agree), they are taking control of improving their fitness and health (91%).
Meaning
Work provides meaning for New Zealand baby boomers, which is a major reason for them electing to remain in the workforce past 65. They will not yield their capacity to achieve meaning through work.
More than 80% agree that work is an important part of who they are; 83% say it is important to their self-esteem. But “work” does not necessarily mean the same as “job”. Baby boomers see purposeful endeavour as “work” and a “job” as a set of tasks.
Almost all New Zealand baby boomers (95%) agree that they have been able to make a meaningful contribution in their job, higher than their American colleagues at 91%. Most of them (85%) expect to get pleasure from their work and nearly 60% disagree that the only reason they work is for the money, while three-quarters are unwilling to work at a boring job even if the pay is good. This generational expectation that their jobs will provide meaning separates the baby boomer cohort from predecessor cohorts, which were more inclined to view a job as an economic necessity and a duty.
Despite universally agreeing they have made a meaningful contribution to work, only two-thirds of New Zealand baby boomers agree that they have been as successful as desired, and 40% feel something is still missing from their life, suggesting a gap in personal fulfillment that may well lead to an increased search for meaning.
Three-quarters of New Zealand baby boomers agree that if they are doing something they love, it doesn’t matter whether they get paid for it, while nearly two-thirds (66%) agree that they don’t have to have a job to feel good about themselves. This suggests they can separate the two and do not necessarily need to be tied to the workplace to meet their “meaning” needs. This is good news for the voluntary sector, which can tap into the New Zealand baby boomer thirst for purposeful endeavour, even without the money to pay them. Provided community organisations can deliver the opportunities to learn, grow and enhance the need baby boomers have to continue to matter, they will attract a large pool of talented and experienced volunteers.
The search for meaning will drive half of New Zealand baby boomers to seek to redefine the purpose of their lives, and in the search, perhaps work on solving their perceived problem that New Zealand is lacking a compelling vision of the future (68% agree).
In the future, New Zealand baby boomers plan to spend their time and energy on getting more out of life (82%, compared to 72% of US boomers); exploring their potential (73%, compared to 62% of US boomers); and exploring the world and within themselves to find and enhance their sense of meaning.
A deep sense of meaning and purpose adds to the New Zealand baby boomer desire for personal enrichment, prevalent in the Vitality character dimension.
Social responsibility
Like their American cousins, New Zealand baby boomers believe strongly (94%) that “we are all responsible to leave the world a better place when we leave it”. However, the New Zealand sense of social responsibility is more global and altruistic than occurs in the American profile. This is characterised by Smith & Clurman (2007) as the US baby boomer tendency to champion issues and causes that matter to them personally, with every personal concern framed as a moral issue. New Zealand baby boomers are, on the whole, not moralistic, preferring a more laissez-faire, or “to each his own”, approach to moral issues.
New Zealand baby boomers almost universally champion the obligation of responsibility over the assertion of personal rights (90%, compared with 60% of US baby boomers).
As a result, New Zealand baby boomers are much less likely to get involved in politics (just 18% compared to 63% of American boomers) or social causes that matter to them personally (57% compared to 66% of American boomers). They are more likely to be interested in environmental issues (60% compared to 50% in the US); and in working to make the community a better place (70%, compared to 64% of Americans); and giving more time (56%) or money (42%) to charity.
Eighty-five percent believe businesses have a social responsibility to their employees and to the community, and they are likely to impose this view on business even more in the future, backed by the weight of their considerable purchasing power.
New Zealand is a more egalitarian and secular society than the USA. There is well-established New Zealand research in the areas of social equity, women’s rights and religion, so these areas were largely excluded from the New Zealand study. Those questions that were retained confirm known existing views. For example, just 14% of New Zealanders plan to focus their time in the future on sharing their religious beliefs with others, or agree that they look to religion as a source of comfort, compared to nearly half (46% and 52% respectively) of Americans. The prevailing perception of New Zealand as already egalitarian is reflected in measurements of interest in working to fix the inequities of society (just a third of New Zealanders, compared to half of all Americans; and championing human rights in society (just 32% of New Zealanders, compared to 45% of Americans).
Kaumatuatanga (responsible, respected elders)
The Maori concept of kaumatuatanga establishes a respected place for older people, affording them status, with an expectation that they will add to the standing, or mana, of the community or society they represent. This is a distinctly adult world view, involving a responsibility to nurture and protect younger adults and children, recognise and foster youth potential, help to resolve community disputes, as well as carry the culture and maintain the traditions and integrity of society (Durie, 2001).
New Zealand baby boomers have a strong sense of tradition and values, grounded in a deeply held belief in what is right and wrong.
They report that they are sick and tired of hearing people disrespect New Zealand values (63% agree); they respect the past (70% agree it is important to learn from the past and to do things in a proven way); and they feel a responsibility to help others out and support the common good (80%).
New Zealand baby boomers make good mentors. Two-thirds of them intend to become involved in mentoring and helping young people; nearly all (89%) believe young people can learn a lot from their generation and, most promisingly, that they can learn a lot from young people (85% agree). They use their ingenuity to discover new ways to use things and enjoy teaching them to others. They are intensely interested in what young people are doing and creating (92% agree) and, youthful in spirit themselves, easily identify with the young (more than 90% agree that there is no reason why young people and older people can’t enjoy the same things).
Nearly 81% of New Zealand baby boomers who have children intend to help them financially.
Almost all New Zealand baby boomers disagree that the future belongs to the next generation and that they won’t have much to do with it (84% disagree). They are preparing for a future in which older people will be much more active and engaged than older people in the past (94% agree).
At the core of what defines the depth of the New Zealand baby boomer character is responsibility. New Zealand baby boomers have a strong moral compass, without being burdened by a moralistic attitude that would see their values imposed on others. They differ from their counterparts in other parts of the world with their broader social view over self-interest and it is this more altruistic (iwi, hapu, whanau, self), inter-generational view that resonates with the Maori concept of kaumatuatanga.
Self-determination
New Zealand baby boomers are fiercely self-determined and independent, and have no intention of stepping back and letting the next generation take charge of their lives (84% disagree that the future belongs to the next generation and that their generation will have little to do with it). They have no intention of “sponging” on the young – 87% of them say they expect to pay their own way all their lives.
While flexible and comfortable with change, they will take control over their future (81%) in larger numbers than their American counterparts (74%). 72% of them have a plan for their future and are on track to achieve it. 76% say they will carve out their own future path. However, they are unlikely to campaign for all baby boomers to be treated the same way; they believe strongly in an individual’s right to do their own thing (81%, compared to 65% of US boomers), and they still believe that superannuation should be provided (62% agree) and that healthcare should be a universal right, even if they are not confident the system will be able to provide it (30% agree).
They are more likely to take personal responsibility for their financial wellbeing. While New Zealand baby boomers have ambitious plans to enjoy the next few decades, they are prepared to make sure they are financially secure so that they can fund their lifestyle choices (80%). They also plan to ensure they have enough money to get by, (82%, compared with 72% of US baby boomers), and they are taking responsibility for planning their own retirements (72%, compared to 68% in the US).
Recognising that health is the driver to them being able to do what they like (95% agree), they are taking control of improving their fitness and health (91%).
Meaning
Work provides meaning for New Zealand baby boomers, which is a major reason for them electing to remain in the workforce past 65. They will not yield their capacity to achieve meaning through work.
More than 80% agree that work is an important part of who they are; 83% say it is important to their self-esteem. But “work” does not necessarily mean the same as “job”. Baby boomers see purposeful endeavour as “work” and a “job” as a set of tasks.
Almost all New Zealand baby boomers (95%) agree that they have been able to make a meaningful contribution in their job, higher than their American colleagues at 91%. Most of them (85%) expect to get pleasure from their work and nearly 60% disagree that the only reason they work is for the money, while three-quarters are unwilling to work at a boring job even if the pay is good. This generational expectation that their jobs will provide meaning separates the baby boomer cohort from predecessor cohorts, which were more inclined to view a job as an economic necessity and a duty.
Despite universally agreeing they have made a meaningful contribution to work, only two-thirds of New Zealand baby boomers agree that they have been as successful as desired, and 40% feel something is still missing from their life, suggesting a gap in personal fulfillment that may well lead to an increased search for meaning.
Three-quarters of New Zealand baby boomers agree that if they are doing something they love, it doesn’t matter whether they get paid for it, while nearly two-thirds (66%) agree that they don’t have to have a job to feel good about themselves. This suggests they can separate the two and do not necessarily need to be tied to the workplace to meet their “meaning” needs. This is good news for the voluntary sector, which can tap into the New Zealand baby boomer thirst for purposeful endeavour, even without the money to pay them. Provided community organisations can deliver the opportunities to learn, grow and enhance the need baby boomers have to continue to matter, they will attract a large pool of talented and experienced volunteers.
The search for meaning will drive half of New Zealand baby boomers to seek to redefine the purpose of their lives, and in the search, perhaps work on solving their perceived problem that New Zealand is lacking a compelling vision of the future (68% agree).
In the future, New Zealand baby boomers plan to spend their time and energy on getting more out of life (82%, compared to 72% of US boomers); exploring their potential (73%, compared to 62% of US boomers); and exploring the world and within themselves to find and enhance their sense of meaning.
A deep sense of meaning and purpose adds to the New Zealand baby boomer desire for personal enrichment, prevalent in the Vitality character dimension.
Social responsibility
Like their American cousins, New Zealand baby boomers believe strongly (94%) that “we are all responsible to leave the world a better place when we leave it”. However, the New Zealand sense of social responsibility is more global and altruistic than occurs in the American profile. This is characterised by Smith & Clurman (2007) as the US baby boomer tendency to champion issues and causes that matter to them personally, with every personal concern framed as a moral issue. New Zealand baby boomers are, on the whole, not moralistic, preferring a more laissez-faire, or “to each his own”, approach to moral issues.
New Zealand baby boomers almost universally champion the obligation of responsibility over the assertion of personal rights (90%, compared with 60% of US baby boomers).
As a result, New Zealand baby boomers are much less likely to get involved in politics (just 18% compared to 63% of American boomers) or social causes that matter to them personally (57% compared to 66% of American boomers). They are more likely to be interested in environmental issues (60% compared to 50% in the US); and in working to make the community a better place (70%, compared to 64% of Americans); and giving more time (56%) or money (42%) to charity.
Eighty-five percent believe businesses have a social responsibility to their employees and to the community, and they are likely to impose this view on business even more in the future, backed by the weight of their considerable purchasing power.
New Zealand is a more egalitarian and secular society than the USA. There is well-established New Zealand research in the areas of social equity, women’s rights and religion, so these areas were largely excluded from the New Zealand study. Those questions that were retained confirm known existing views. For example, just 14% of New Zealanders plan to focus their time in the future on sharing their religious beliefs with others, or agree that they look to religion as a source of comfort, compared to nearly half (46% and 52% respectively) of Americans. The prevailing perception of New Zealand as already egalitarian is reflected in measurements of interest in working to fix the inequities of society (just a third of New Zealanders, compared to half of all Americans; and championing human rights in society (just 32% of New Zealanders, compared to 45% of Americans).
Kaumatuatanga (responsible, respected elders)
The Maori concept of kaumatuatanga establishes a respected place for older people, affording them status, with an expectation that they will add to the standing, or mana, of the community or society they represent. This is a distinctly adult world view, involving a responsibility to nurture and protect younger adults and children, recognise and foster youth potential, help to resolve community disputes, as well as carry the culture and maintain the traditions and integrity of society (Durie, 2001).
New Zealand baby boomers have a strong sense of tradition and values, grounded in a deeply held belief in what is right and wrong.
They report that they are sick and tired of hearing people disrespect New Zealand values (63% agree); they respect the past (70% agree it is important to learn from the past and to do things in a proven way); and they feel a responsibility to help others out and support the common good (80%).
New Zealand baby boomers make good mentors. Two-thirds of them intend to become involved in mentoring and helping young people; nearly all (89%) believe young people can learn a lot from their generation and, most promisingly, that they can learn a lot from young people (85% agree). They use their ingenuity to discover new ways to use things and enjoy teaching them to others. They are intensely interested in what young people are doing and creating (92% agree) and, youthful in spirit themselves, easily identify with the young (more than 90% agree that there is no reason why young people and older people can’t enjoy the same things).
Nearly 81% of New Zealand baby boomers who have children intend to help them financially.
Almost all New Zealand baby boomers disagree that the future belongs to the next generation and that they won’t have much to do with it (84% disagree). They are preparing for a future in which older people will be much more active and engaged than older people in the past (94% agree).
At the core of what defines the depth of the New Zealand baby boomer character is responsibility. New Zealand baby boomers have a strong moral compass, without being burdened by a moralistic attitude that would see their values imposed on others. They differ from their counterparts in other parts of the world with their broader social view over self-interest and it is this more altruistic (iwi, hapu, whanau, self), inter-generational view that resonates with the Maori concept of kaumatuatanga.
The baby boomer character
Huber & Skidmore (2003) identified two distinctive characteristics among UK baby boomers, individualism and liberalism.
Smith & Clurman (2007) identified two distinctive characteristics among US baby boomers, youthfulness (immortality) and morality. The youthfulness characteristic is dominant.
In New Zealand, the two distinctive characteristics of baby boomers are vitality and responsibility, with vitality being more prevalent.
New Zealand baby boomers are less interested in rule-breaking and more likely to assume the rules simply don’t apply to them. They are nearly 18% more likely than their American counterparts to focus their future energies on playing by fewer rules. They care less about fighting to champion social injustice and causes to change the status quo, and more about using their innate Kiwi ingenuity to find new ways to get what they want, letting the status quo change as a result.
They’re more about fitness than vigour, per se. They’re more sporting, more outdoorsy and more likely to be physically vital and they almost universally (91%) plan to stay that way. They are nearly 30% more likely than their American counterparts to work towards being more physically active. They almost universally agree (94%) that in the future older people will be much more active and engaged than their predecessor generation, and they see no reason to feel less vital and energetic as they age (89%).
When they are not out exploring the world, New Zealand baby boomers savour their quiet satisfactions. Not asked in the US study but prevalent in the New Zealand optional responses was a focus on relationships, particularly with partners, and also with family. Personal enrichment is more important in greater depth in the New Zealand character than in the US baby boomer. Learning new skills or hobbies (84%, compared to 71% in the US), reading more books (89%, compared to 76% of American boomers)), enjoying more leisure activities (88%) and making new friends (83%, compared to 67% of American boomers) rate highly in the future plans of New Zealand baby boomers. They will also indulge themselves with more of life’s luxuries more often (72%, compared to 48% of American boomers).
New Zealand baby boomers are strongly driven by the adventure dimension and associate this dimension with novelty. With their almost universally resilient optimism, they see no barriers to them reshaping their lives for their greater satisfaction. They have very little resistance to change (in fact they embrace it) and are both flexible and ingenious. Travel features highly in their plans – many baby boomers “did their OE”, or travelled internationally on extended working holidays, during their youth. The OE experience, once thought endemic in New Zealand, is no longer something young people do (although the ‘gap year’ is emerging), but New Zealand baby boomers plan to reprise it. Eighty-one percent plan to travel the world in the future, compared to just 60% of their American counterparts. Having new adventures that are exciting and fun (88%, compared to 71% of US boomers), getting more out of life (87%, compared to 75% of US boomers) and exploring their potential in new and innovative ways (73%, compared to just 62% of US boomers), all feature prominently in their plans.
Individuality and self-reliance are strong national characteristics that are prevalent in the New Zealand baby boomer character. They almost universally (90%) want to spend their time in future doing the things they’ve always wanted to do, but may have deferred due to work and family responsibilities. New Zealand baby boomers are 16% more likely to feel this way than American baby boomers. They are also nearly 20% more likely to want to put themselves first more often – individuality expressed as self-focus.
At the core of what makes New Zealand baby boomers distinct from baby boomers from anywhere else is their Vitality. They are “fizzier” than American baby boomers, passionate and opinionated, fiercely independent in their individuality. They thirst for the new, see endless new horizons before them and no barriers to pursuing them, and are less willing to allow themselves to be reined in. Being kiwis, they will find a way around any obstruction in their pursuit of self-actualisation and the full and complete experience of their lives.
Smith & Clurman (2007) identified two distinctive characteristics among US baby boomers, youthfulness (immortality) and morality. The youthfulness characteristic is dominant.
In New Zealand, the two distinctive characteristics of baby boomers are vitality and responsibility, with vitality being more prevalent.
New Zealand baby boomers are less interested in rule-breaking and more likely to assume the rules simply don’t apply to them. They are nearly 18% more likely than their American counterparts to focus their future energies on playing by fewer rules. They care less about fighting to champion social injustice and causes to change the status quo, and more about using their innate Kiwi ingenuity to find new ways to get what they want, letting the status quo change as a result.
They’re more about fitness than vigour, per se. They’re more sporting, more outdoorsy and more likely to be physically vital and they almost universally (91%) plan to stay that way. They are nearly 30% more likely than their American counterparts to work towards being more physically active. They almost universally agree (94%) that in the future older people will be much more active and engaged than their predecessor generation, and they see no reason to feel less vital and energetic as they age (89%).
When they are not out exploring the world, New Zealand baby boomers savour their quiet satisfactions. Not asked in the US study but prevalent in the New Zealand optional responses was a focus on relationships, particularly with partners, and also with family. Personal enrichment is more important in greater depth in the New Zealand character than in the US baby boomer. Learning new skills or hobbies (84%, compared to 71% in the US), reading more books (89%, compared to 76% of American boomers)), enjoying more leisure activities (88%) and making new friends (83%, compared to 67% of American boomers) rate highly in the future plans of New Zealand baby boomers. They will also indulge themselves with more of life’s luxuries more often (72%, compared to 48% of American boomers).
New Zealand baby boomers are strongly driven by the adventure dimension and associate this dimension with novelty. With their almost universally resilient optimism, they see no barriers to them reshaping their lives for their greater satisfaction. They have very little resistance to change (in fact they embrace it) and are both flexible and ingenious. Travel features highly in their plans – many baby boomers “did their OE”, or travelled internationally on extended working holidays, during their youth. The OE experience, once thought endemic in New Zealand, is no longer something young people do (although the ‘gap year’ is emerging), but New Zealand baby boomers plan to reprise it. Eighty-one percent plan to travel the world in the future, compared to just 60% of their American counterparts. Having new adventures that are exciting and fun (88%, compared to 71% of US boomers), getting more out of life (87%, compared to 75% of US boomers) and exploring their potential in new and innovative ways (73%, compared to just 62% of US boomers), all feature prominently in their plans.
Individuality and self-reliance are strong national characteristics that are prevalent in the New Zealand baby boomer character. They almost universally (90%) want to spend their time in future doing the things they’ve always wanted to do, but may have deferred due to work and family responsibilities. New Zealand baby boomers are 16% more likely to feel this way than American baby boomers. They are also nearly 20% more likely to want to put themselves first more often – individuality expressed as self-focus.
At the core of what makes New Zealand baby boomers distinct from baby boomers from anywhere else is their Vitality. They are “fizzier” than American baby boomers, passionate and opinionated, fiercely independent in their individuality. They thirst for the new, see endless new horizons before them and no barriers to pursuing them, and are less willing to allow themselves to be reined in. Being kiwis, they will find a way around any obstruction in their pursuit of self-actualisation and the full and complete experience of their lives.
NZ baby boomers are youthful in spirit
Youthful spirit
New Zealander baby boomers resoundingly agree that a person is not “old” until they are in their eighties. The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 asked boomers, “how old is ‘old’”? and the mean answer was 81 years. This is slightly more optimistic than US boomers’ perception, which is 79.5 (Smith & Clurman, 2007).
Almost all (98.6%) New Zealand baby boomers agree that people should try to maintain a youthful spirit about life.
Eighty-nine percent agree that age is a state of mind and 88% aren’t worried about getting older. New Zealand boomers disagree (79%) that their best years are behind them and 70% do not see themselves facing any limits whatsoever because of their age. Overwhelmingly (91.6%), they disagree that there is little for people their age to look forward to besides getting older and coping with old age.
Like their American counterparts, New Zealand baby boomers have no intention of retiring in what they perceive to be only their middle-age, but unlike Americans, New Zealand boomers’ views in this area are more emphatic and universal. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of them say they have no intention of having a quiet retirement, compared to just 57.6% of American baby boomers, and 80% of New Zealanders say they have no intention of acting their age, compared to 68% of Americans. Both populations agree equally strongly (89%) that there is no reason for them to feel any less vital and energetic as they get older.
New Zealand boomers have a younger (in spirit) and more vigorous profile than their American counterparts, but are also grounded in a strong sense of social responsibility. More than 90% of them believe they have a part to play in addressing the important social issues facing the country, and almost 89% say they expect to pay their own way in the future. 89% say they have no intention of living beyond their means, but that doesn’t mean they’re prepared to see their means restricted – unlike their American counterparts, New Zealand baby boomers will find ways to get more rather than make do with less.
They remain youthful in profile – flexible, idealistic, individualistic, challenging, searching for answers, special, and above all, boundlessly, resiliently optimistic about the future.
New Zealander baby boomers resoundingly agree that a person is not “old” until they are in their eighties. The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 asked boomers, “how old is ‘old’”? and the mean answer was 81 years. This is slightly more optimistic than US boomers’ perception, which is 79.5 (Smith & Clurman, 2007).
Almost all (98.6%) New Zealand baby boomers agree that people should try to maintain a youthful spirit about life.
Eighty-nine percent agree that age is a state of mind and 88% aren’t worried about getting older. New Zealand boomers disagree (79%) that their best years are behind them and 70% do not see themselves facing any limits whatsoever because of their age. Overwhelmingly (91.6%), they disagree that there is little for people their age to look forward to besides getting older and coping with old age.
Like their American counterparts, New Zealand baby boomers have no intention of retiring in what they perceive to be only their middle-age, but unlike Americans, New Zealand boomers’ views in this area are more emphatic and universal. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of them say they have no intention of having a quiet retirement, compared to just 57.6% of American baby boomers, and 80% of New Zealanders say they have no intention of acting their age, compared to 68% of Americans. Both populations agree equally strongly (89%) that there is no reason for them to feel any less vital and energetic as they get older.
New Zealand boomers have a younger (in spirit) and more vigorous profile than their American counterparts, but are also grounded in a strong sense of social responsibility. More than 90% of them believe they have a part to play in addressing the important social issues facing the country, and almost 89% say they expect to pay their own way in the future. 89% say they have no intention of living beyond their means, but that doesn’t mean they’re prepared to see their means restricted – unlike their American counterparts, New Zealand baby boomers will find ways to get more rather than make do with less.
They remain youthful in profile – flexible, idealistic, individualistic, challenging, searching for answers, special, and above all, boundlessly, resiliently optimistic about the future.
What is "retirement"?
Defining retirement
In the 1880s Germany’s Chancellor, Otto van Bismarck, created Europe’s first pension plan to provide state support and entitlements for old people considered too feeble to work. The age of entitlement was set at 65, at a time when average life expectancy was 45 (Dychtwald, 2005b). Prior to that, people worked until they died, and their roles in society changed to suit their skills, experience and fitness.
During the twentieth century, retirement came to be seen by some as a tool to remove older workers from the workforce into their “golden years” to make way for younger workers, particularly as the baby boom bulge moved through the workforce and put upward pressure on the job market. By the end of the twentieth century, retirement had come to be seen as a triumph of twentieth century prosperity and a “right”. It was a social benefit promised to reward workers for “decades of demanding and often unfulfilling labour” (Smith & Clurman, 2007).
At the same time, average life expectancy increased to the mid-70s (and higher for women). If the age of pension entitlement today were adjusted to take account of the increase in average life expectancy, it would be 70 instead of the current 65.
Today, retirement age varies across countries. In Australia, the traditional age at which retirement starts has been 55 (Quine & Carter, 2006). In Canada it is 60 (Statistics Canada, 2006). A third of American workers retire at 55, with the proportion rising to half by the age of 60 (Dendinger, 2005). In New Zealand, the Retirement Commissioner advises that there is no official retirement age, but the age at which Government superannuation begins to be paid (previously 60, currently 65 and subject to change) is generally taken to be the age of retirement.
Retirement can be defined as a “one time event that permanently divides work life from leisure” (Dychtwald, 2004); a “complete withdrawal from the workforce” (Dendinger, 2005); “complete and worry-free disengagement from the workaday world” (Smith & Clurman, 2007); to “step aside and let others take the reins” (Smith & Clurman, 2007); “to remove from view, withdraw from society” (Bogan & Davies, 2007). The word retirement carries connotations of deceleration and withdrawal from the world, a gradual wind down to death, or “waiting for God”. In the UK, Huber & Skidmore (2003) report that retirement is about “not working”, but say that, “to view it as the twilight of a career beyond which meaningful self-fulfillment becomes impossible is inadequate”.
While the New Zealand Retirement Commission does not have a set definition and considers there to be many options for older people, when called upon it will define retirement as “the situation where an employee permanently withdraws from the regular paid workforce” (Retirement Commission, 2008).
Smith and Clurman (2007) list the key elements of the traditional concept of retirement as “not working”; “pensioned” (living more frugally on savings or fixed pension); “maturity” (age, limitations and legacy); “surrender – stepping aside to let the next generation set the societal agenda”; and “closure”.
American gerontologist Dr Ken Dychtwald has described the concept of retirement as outdated, saying it “should be put out to pasture” in favour of new approaches to suit the changing work ambitions of both workers and employers (Dychtwald, 2004).
The “golden years” ideal of retirement required that older people be willing to step back and let the next generation take charge, and that the next generation be able to generate enough income to pay the cost of their elders’ retirement.
In the 1880s Germany’s Chancellor, Otto van Bismarck, created Europe’s first pension plan to provide state support and entitlements for old people considered too feeble to work. The age of entitlement was set at 65, at a time when average life expectancy was 45 (Dychtwald, 2005b). Prior to that, people worked until they died, and their roles in society changed to suit their skills, experience and fitness.
During the twentieth century, retirement came to be seen by some as a tool to remove older workers from the workforce into their “golden years” to make way for younger workers, particularly as the baby boom bulge moved through the workforce and put upward pressure on the job market. By the end of the twentieth century, retirement had come to be seen as a triumph of twentieth century prosperity and a “right”. It was a social benefit promised to reward workers for “decades of demanding and often unfulfilling labour” (Smith & Clurman, 2007).
At the same time, average life expectancy increased to the mid-70s (and higher for women). If the age of pension entitlement today were adjusted to take account of the increase in average life expectancy, it would be 70 instead of the current 65.
Today, retirement age varies across countries. In Australia, the traditional age at which retirement starts has been 55 (Quine & Carter, 2006). In Canada it is 60 (Statistics Canada, 2006). A third of American workers retire at 55, with the proportion rising to half by the age of 60 (Dendinger, 2005). In New Zealand, the Retirement Commissioner advises that there is no official retirement age, but the age at which Government superannuation begins to be paid (previously 60, currently 65 and subject to change) is generally taken to be the age of retirement.
Retirement can be defined as a “one time event that permanently divides work life from leisure” (Dychtwald, 2004); a “complete withdrawal from the workforce” (Dendinger, 2005); “complete and worry-free disengagement from the workaday world” (Smith & Clurman, 2007); to “step aside and let others take the reins” (Smith & Clurman, 2007); “to remove from view, withdraw from society” (Bogan & Davies, 2007). The word retirement carries connotations of deceleration and withdrawal from the world, a gradual wind down to death, or “waiting for God”. In the UK, Huber & Skidmore (2003) report that retirement is about “not working”, but say that, “to view it as the twilight of a career beyond which meaningful self-fulfillment becomes impossible is inadequate”.
While the New Zealand Retirement Commission does not have a set definition and considers there to be many options for older people, when called upon it will define retirement as “the situation where an employee permanently withdraws from the regular paid workforce” (Retirement Commission, 2008).
Smith and Clurman (2007) list the key elements of the traditional concept of retirement as “not working”; “pensioned” (living more frugally on savings or fixed pension); “maturity” (age, limitations and legacy); “surrender – stepping aside to let the next generation set the societal agenda”; and “closure”.
American gerontologist Dr Ken Dychtwald has described the concept of retirement as outdated, saying it “should be put out to pasture” in favour of new approaches to suit the changing work ambitions of both workers and employers (Dychtwald, 2004).
The “golden years” ideal of retirement required that older people be willing to step back and let the next generation take charge, and that the next generation be able to generate enough income to pay the cost of their elders’ retirement.
Defining baby boomers
Demographics
The baby boom demographic phenomenon was an explosion of new births in the twenty years immediately following the end of World War Two. Similar population explosions occurred in a number of countries, including Australia, New Zealand, America, Canada and, arguably, the UK (which had two population spikes during the period, rather than a sustained “hump”, but overall saw a marked population increase). In general, the baby booms increased national populations by up to 100% at the time of their births. The boom tailed off in the mid-1960s, and while cut off dates varied across countries, they are commonly standardised around 1964. The end of the baby boom is partly attributed to the introduction of the contraceptive pill and the entrance of women into the workforce in large numbers.
Statistics New Zealand defines baby boomers as New Zealanders born between 1 January 1946 and 31 December 1965 (Statistics New Zealand, 1995a). During this twenty year period, 1.125 million babies were born in the country, almost doubling the population (which was just 1.7 million in 1946). By 1991, baby boomers comprised 30% of the population and they currently comprise more than a quarter of the population. By 2031, all of the baby boomers will be over 65 and will make up 21.3% of the population (Statistics New Zealand, 1995a), the largest “elderly” population in New Zealand’s history.
Australia likewise uses a 1946-1965 timeframe for defining its 5.5 million baby boomers, with a peak birth year of 1946. By 2030, 47% of Australia’s wealth will be held by people over 65 (Quine & Carter, 2006).
The UK, which saw a large birth spike in 1946 and another at the end of the baby boom, defines the baby boom as being from 1945 to 1965, with 18.5 million babies born in the 20-year period. Today there are 17 million baby boomers in the UK, comprising 29% of the population (Huber & Skidmore, 2003).
In the USA, the definition is Americans born between 1 January 1946 and 31 December 1964, a total of 78 million people now comprising more than a quarter of the US population (US Census Bureau, 2006). Americans currently in their 50s or older earn more than $2 trillion annually and control 70% of the country’s personal financial assets (Dychtwald, 2005b).
International research convention among baby boomer studies is to include all residents in the country who are in the target age range, regardless of whether they were born in that country or immigrated at some point since 1946, and also regardless of whether they belong to groups that did not experience a baby boom. For example, Hispanic people in the USA did not experience a baby boom; Australia experienced a large immigration surge in the 1950s and 1960, mainly from Italy and Greece; In New Zealand, Maori had high birth rates throughout the first half of the 20th century, so did not experience the population spike that occurred in the New Zealand European population (Statistics New Zealand, 1995). The reason for including groups not born into baby booms is that they were still to varying degrees raised or living in the same environment with the same influences as the main baby boomer population and they will continue to be part of the affected population.
Baby boomers are demographically characterised as better educated, healthier and better off financially than predecessor generations. They also come from more ethnically diverse backgrounds and display more diversity of household types than their parents (Statistics New Zealand, 1995).
Generational cohort
“When baby boomers reach any stage of life, the issues that concern them – whether financial, interpersonal, or even hormonal – become the dominant social, political, and marketplace themes of the time. Boomers don’t just populate existing life stages or consumer trends – they transform them” (Dychtwald, 2005b).
Smith and Clurman (2007) define a generational cohort as, “a sociological concept referring to a group of people who grew up and came of age together”. This is based on a view that people develop their lifelong core values and attitudes from the experiences of their formative years, and those collective experiences unite communities of people of the same age into a definable character.
“The prevailing social environment created by these dynamics is the starting point that imbues a generation with a particular set of values from which it begins to understand its place, its opportunities, and its potential” (Smith & Clurman, 2007). Smith and Clurman suggest it is within this context that baby boomers have learned “what’s possible, what’s valuable and what it takes to get things done”.
While only a tiny number of early boomers protested the Vietnam War, and New Zealand’s level of involvement in this event differed from the US experience, all baby boomers were called upon to form views about it. The Apollo space programme was one of the first such milestone formative experiences to be communicated all around the world, following the advent of television across the developed world. Young baby boomers everywhere saw the world from space for the first time and were all influenced by the experience, even though only a very tiny number of people in just one country were actually engaged in the event.
Demographic theorists and economists define the baby boomer generation by the years they were born and the life stages and milestones they share, such as going to school, starting families and retiring. However, while these are important markers, all generations experience them; it is the character of how a population responds to life stages and milestones that differentiates a generational cohort from a generation.
There is diversity within the baby boomer generation and not all people born in the timeframe will necessarily identify with all of the characteristics that define the cohort. Quantitative studies measure the proportion of respondents who agree with defining characteristics and, where the proportions are large, the characteristics can be said to be representative of the cohort as a whole.
According to Smith and Clurman (2007), the character of a generational cohort “sets the tone for what it’s like to live and work in those times”.
Most generational cohort theorists consider the formative influences for baby boomers to comprise societal events: the Vietnam War, Woodstock, Apollo, JFK and Martin Luther King Jr, the Beatles and rock music for older boomers; television, economic shocks from oil and financial markets, Watergate, punk and pop music for younger boomers. In this contextual framework, the temptation to split the baby boomer cohort in two is understandable. Smith and Clurman (2007) however, posit the view that it is an overwhelming climate of sustained economic prosperity that formed the baby boomer cohort and continues to unite it in what they call a “psychology of affluence”.
To support this view of the importance of economic prosperity in forging the baby boomer character, Smith and Clurman acknowledged the impact of pop culture and politics, but ranked those things third, behind the economy and technology (first) and demographics (second).
The baby boom demographic phenomenon was an explosion of new births in the twenty years immediately following the end of World War Two. Similar population explosions occurred in a number of countries, including Australia, New Zealand, America, Canada and, arguably, the UK (which had two population spikes during the period, rather than a sustained “hump”, but overall saw a marked population increase). In general, the baby booms increased national populations by up to 100% at the time of their births. The boom tailed off in the mid-1960s, and while cut off dates varied across countries, they are commonly standardised around 1964. The end of the baby boom is partly attributed to the introduction of the contraceptive pill and the entrance of women into the workforce in large numbers.
Statistics New Zealand defines baby boomers as New Zealanders born between 1 January 1946 and 31 December 1965 (Statistics New Zealand, 1995a). During this twenty year period, 1.125 million babies were born in the country, almost doubling the population (which was just 1.7 million in 1946). By 1991, baby boomers comprised 30% of the population and they currently comprise more than a quarter of the population. By 2031, all of the baby boomers will be over 65 and will make up 21.3% of the population (Statistics New Zealand, 1995a), the largest “elderly” population in New Zealand’s history.
Australia likewise uses a 1946-1965 timeframe for defining its 5.5 million baby boomers, with a peak birth year of 1946. By 2030, 47% of Australia’s wealth will be held by people over 65 (Quine & Carter, 2006).
The UK, which saw a large birth spike in 1946 and another at the end of the baby boom, defines the baby boom as being from 1945 to 1965, with 18.5 million babies born in the 20-year period. Today there are 17 million baby boomers in the UK, comprising 29% of the population (Huber & Skidmore, 2003).
In the USA, the definition is Americans born between 1 January 1946 and 31 December 1964, a total of 78 million people now comprising more than a quarter of the US population (US Census Bureau, 2006). Americans currently in their 50s or older earn more than $2 trillion annually and control 70% of the country’s personal financial assets (Dychtwald, 2005b).
International research convention among baby boomer studies is to include all residents in the country who are in the target age range, regardless of whether they were born in that country or immigrated at some point since 1946, and also regardless of whether they belong to groups that did not experience a baby boom. For example, Hispanic people in the USA did not experience a baby boom; Australia experienced a large immigration surge in the 1950s and 1960, mainly from Italy and Greece; In New Zealand, Maori had high birth rates throughout the first half of the 20th century, so did not experience the population spike that occurred in the New Zealand European population (Statistics New Zealand, 1995). The reason for including groups not born into baby booms is that they were still to varying degrees raised or living in the same environment with the same influences as the main baby boomer population and they will continue to be part of the affected population.
Baby boomers are demographically characterised as better educated, healthier and better off financially than predecessor generations. They also come from more ethnically diverse backgrounds and display more diversity of household types than their parents (Statistics New Zealand, 1995).
Generational cohort
“When baby boomers reach any stage of life, the issues that concern them – whether financial, interpersonal, or even hormonal – become the dominant social, political, and marketplace themes of the time. Boomers don’t just populate existing life stages or consumer trends – they transform them” (Dychtwald, 2005b).
Smith and Clurman (2007) define a generational cohort as, “a sociological concept referring to a group of people who grew up and came of age together”. This is based on a view that people develop their lifelong core values and attitudes from the experiences of their formative years, and those collective experiences unite communities of people of the same age into a definable character.
“The prevailing social environment created by these dynamics is the starting point that imbues a generation with a particular set of values from which it begins to understand its place, its opportunities, and its potential” (Smith & Clurman, 2007). Smith and Clurman suggest it is within this context that baby boomers have learned “what’s possible, what’s valuable and what it takes to get things done”.
While only a tiny number of early boomers protested the Vietnam War, and New Zealand’s level of involvement in this event differed from the US experience, all baby boomers were called upon to form views about it. The Apollo space programme was one of the first such milestone formative experiences to be communicated all around the world, following the advent of television across the developed world. Young baby boomers everywhere saw the world from space for the first time and were all influenced by the experience, even though only a very tiny number of people in just one country were actually engaged in the event.
Demographic theorists and economists define the baby boomer generation by the years they were born and the life stages and milestones they share, such as going to school, starting families and retiring. However, while these are important markers, all generations experience them; it is the character of how a population responds to life stages and milestones that differentiates a generational cohort from a generation.
There is diversity within the baby boomer generation and not all people born in the timeframe will necessarily identify with all of the characteristics that define the cohort. Quantitative studies measure the proportion of respondents who agree with defining characteristics and, where the proportions are large, the characteristics can be said to be representative of the cohort as a whole.
According to Smith and Clurman (2007), the character of a generational cohort “sets the tone for what it’s like to live and work in those times”.
Most generational cohort theorists consider the formative influences for baby boomers to comprise societal events: the Vietnam War, Woodstock, Apollo, JFK and Martin Luther King Jr, the Beatles and rock music for older boomers; television, economic shocks from oil and financial markets, Watergate, punk and pop music for younger boomers. In this contextual framework, the temptation to split the baby boomer cohort in two is understandable. Smith and Clurman (2007) however, posit the view that it is an overwhelming climate of sustained economic prosperity that formed the baby boomer cohort and continues to unite it in what they call a “psychology of affluence”.
To support this view of the importance of economic prosperity in forging the baby boomer character, Smith and Clurman acknowledged the impact of pop culture and politics, but ranked those things third, behind the economy and technology (first) and demographics (second).
The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 is the most comprehensive study so far undertaken into the country’s million-plus baby boomer generation and their plans for what’s starting to be called their “unretirement”.
Today’s boomers are better educated, healthier, more affluent and better off than the generation before them. They are also likely to live twenty to thirty years after retirement age. Baby boomers the world over have notoriously never conformed as expected and, despite speculation, there is no evidence to suggest that they now plan to behave like the generation before them and “retire gracefully to do charitable works”.
American, Australian and British baby boomers are typically not eagerly anticipating lives of disengaged retirement. Instead, many plan to work, contribute to social causes and continue to influence society, as they have all their lives. New Zealand baby boomers have similar (but not identical) aspirations and intentions, suggesting that current concerns about the burden they might be on pensions and social services, and the hole they might leave in the workforce, are quite misplaced.
Overseas research has found that many baby boomers want to keep working, but on their own terms and with more time for leisure, travel and their families.
It is important for businesses, social providers, public policy developers and Government to know what will happen in the future for New Zealand baby boomers, because of the potential social, financial, business and economic ramifications. The study asks New Zealand baby boomers what their plans and desires are for the future. Their answers have a distinctly New Zealand character but are similar to boomers overseas; they are likely to surprise social planners and both relieve and frustrate Generation X and Y workers.
New Zealand baby boomers want to renegotiate their life expectations, and have the numbers and economic might to drive society into any change they need.
The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 closely follows an American Boomer Dreams study conducted in 2006 by respected American social researchers, The Futures Company (formerly Yankelovich Inc.), and is replicated with permission. This American firm originally coined the term, “Baby Boomers” in the 1960s and has been tracking the generational cohort for more than thirty years.
Today’s boomers are better educated, healthier, more affluent and better off than the generation before them. They are also likely to live twenty to thirty years after retirement age. Baby boomers the world over have notoriously never conformed as expected and, despite speculation, there is no evidence to suggest that they now plan to behave like the generation before them and “retire gracefully to do charitable works”.
American, Australian and British baby boomers are typically not eagerly anticipating lives of disengaged retirement. Instead, many plan to work, contribute to social causes and continue to influence society, as they have all their lives. New Zealand baby boomers have similar (but not identical) aspirations and intentions, suggesting that current concerns about the burden they might be on pensions and social services, and the hole they might leave in the workforce, are quite misplaced.
Overseas research has found that many baby boomers want to keep working, but on their own terms and with more time for leisure, travel and their families.
It is important for businesses, social providers, public policy developers and Government to know what will happen in the future for New Zealand baby boomers, because of the potential social, financial, business and economic ramifications. The study asks New Zealand baby boomers what their plans and desires are for the future. Their answers have a distinctly New Zealand character but are similar to boomers overseas; they are likely to surprise social planners and both relieve and frustrate Generation X and Y workers.
New Zealand baby boomers want to renegotiate their life expectations, and have the numbers and economic might to drive society into any change they need.
The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 closely follows an American Boomer Dreams study conducted in 2006 by respected American social researchers, The Futures Company (formerly Yankelovich Inc.), and is replicated with permission. This American firm originally coined the term, “Baby Boomers” in the 1960s and has been tracking the generational cohort for more than thirty years.
New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009
Not the retiring sort
New research into the intentions and aspirations of New Zealand Baby Boomers as the first of this generational cohort approach traditional retirement age.
New research into the intentions and aspirations of New Zealand Baby Boomers as the first of this generational cohort approach traditional retirement age.
Current social policy convention in New Zealand forecasts a future where the nation’s million-strong baby boomer cohort will retire at 65, stressing the superannuation and healthcare resources of the country to (some predict) breaking point and leaving behind a skills gap that will reduce the productivity of the workforce and slow economic growth. These forecasts are premised on the idea that baby boomers want to retire at 65 and that their future behaviour can be reliably predicted based on the behaviour of the current population of over-65 year olds. Although widely adopted, these assumptions have no research base.
New research I conducted in August 2009 for my MBA thesis provides research evidence that these two key assumptions are inaccurate and misleading, by asking baby boomers themselves.
The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 was a comprehensive online attitudinal study of 1,162 New Zealand baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964. It was the first behavioural research of its type undertaken in New Zealand and was compared with the findings with the Boomer Dreams Study 2006, conducted in the USA in 2006 by The Futures Company. The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 provides some insights into what the social fabric of New Zealand might look like over the next forty years, looking at the dreams and aspirations of New Zealand baby boomers as they approach traditional retirement age.
New research I conducted in August 2009 for my MBA thesis provides research evidence that these two key assumptions are inaccurate and misleading, by asking baby boomers themselves.
The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 was a comprehensive online attitudinal study of 1,162 New Zealand baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964. It was the first behavioural research of its type undertaken in New Zealand and was compared with the findings with the Boomer Dreams Study 2006, conducted in the USA in 2006 by The Futures Company. The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 provides some insights into what the social fabric of New Zealand might look like over the next forty years, looking at the dreams and aspirations of New Zealand baby boomers as they approach traditional retirement age.
The short answers is that New Zealand baby booemrs are “not the retiring sort”, but will instead renegotiate the meaning of work, leisure and aging.
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