Lifestyle tops list for baby boomers

By Joel Ford
There's an old Chinese proverb that says "no health, no wealth" and it sums up exactly how baby boomer Brian Jones feels about life.
For the 57-year-old loans manager from Otumoetai, lifestyle has become increasingly more important as he has got older.
"I think as you get older you become more aware of how fragile life is, so if you can spend some of your time keeping fit you might enjoy life more and you might live a little longer," he said.
Money and providing for his family used to be his main concern - and still is to a certain extent. However, once his three girls left home priorities changed and he began to focus on lifestyle and health rather than finances.
Now he regularly attends the gym, plays as much golf as he can and is thinking more about travel.
"I just renewed my gym membership for two years the other day so that was a bit of a commitment. I need to keep fit to enjoy my grandchildren," he said.
According to a recent Southern Cross survey, Mr Jones provides an accurate picture of what is important to the baby boomer generation.
Of the 553 people surveyed aged 55 and older, the poll found more were concerned about looking good and living full social lives than they were about their finances.
But health was the single biggest concern. More than half of the baby boomers said they were worried about their physical appearance and lifestyle, compared to 44 per cent who said they were concerned about their finances.
Kay Gerbich of Bodyzone gym in Tauranga, who has been in the exercise business for 18 years, said in recent times there had been a definite increase in the number of people over 50 using the gym.
"Before it was very much students and young people. People are really fit at 45 and 55 now," she said. A baby boomer herself, Ms Gerbich said people aged 60 years and older were regular users of rowing machines and the exercise bikes.
"They are very concerned about their fitness - we have an awful lot of baby boomers in our gym. These days it's a lifestyle choice," she said.
The report also stated that baby boomers were concerned about ageism, with 33 per cent of those surveyed saying they were becoming increasingly worried that age discrimination would become an issue as they got older.
Tauranga Hospital-based Dr Elizabeth Spellacy, a consultant physician for older people, said ageism was a real concern for baby boomers.
Part of the problem was the fact they made up such a large percentage of the population, she said. That had impacted on employment and real estate opportunities for younger generations.
"It's ironic in that the baby boomer generation ... are the very generation who are still young at heart - they are the rock generation. In a way they are the least appropriate generation for people to feel ageist about but because of their numbers they are generating ageism," she said.
She believes baby boomers can help to reduce the problem of ageism but are reluctant to get involved because they fear it makes them look old. "We need baby boomers to advocate for older people but because they are worried about how it might impact on them they are tending to bury their head in the sand," she said.
The survey also found that more baby boomers were concerned about their gardens (29 per cent) than about the financial well-being of their children and grandchildren (26 per cent).
Robyn Cormack of the Retirement Commission said this had more to do with the attitudes of baby boomers and didn't necessarily mean they cared any less about their families than other generations.
"People joke about that sort of thing - spending their kids' inheritance - but mostly it's a head-space change where people are thinking 'I'm here to live life'. It's not all about being selfish, it's about spending your money, it's about being out there doing whatever it is you want to do," she said.
"I'd be surprised if older people were really that unconcerned about their families."
Ms Cormack said it was only natural the baby boomer generation were more concerned about lifestyle over financial matters when you took into account where they've come from.
"They've grown up in good financial times compared to their parents, who went through the Depression and wars, so they have a different outlook. They are more interested in spending money and living life to the full."