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.