Retirement far from boomers' minds

A survey of baby boomers has turned widely held predictions of a coming skills gap on its head. The report will show that older people have little intention of putting their feet up at 65 and that the new "old" is 81.

Massey MBA mature student Sharon Buckland organised the online survey of people born between 1946 and 1964 as part of her course work. In all, 1162 people took part during August and the findings, says Buckland, lets Gen Ys off the hook as their taxes won't necessarily have to fund pension payments to their parents. The oldies will be doing it for themselves.

Buckland says there are more than a million baby boomers in New Zealand who will start turning 65 within the next couple of years and that predictions have typically been that they will place huge financial pressure on the Government and employers.

"All of the projections that we have in the public arena are based around the idea that 65 equals retirement, that retirement is desirable and that retirement and work are mutually exclusive," says Buckland. "And the current thinking is based on the idea that you can predict the future behaviour of baby boomers by looking at the behaviour of the generation before them.

"But baby boomers have never acted like their parents. So why anyone would put in place a whole bunch of social planning that they were suddenly going to do so now is beyond my understanding."

Buckland says the present thinking about baby boomers retiring, being a burden on the state, a drain on the health system and creating a nightmare for employers is all wrong.

"There's not too many Gen Xs around to replace the boomers and the Gen Ys just don't want to work ... so the sky is not going to fall in during the next 20 years," says Buckland.

"Baby boomers have no intention of retiring and are looking forward to working for 15 to 20 years past retirement age. They are fitter, better educated and more prepared for this part of their lives than any other generation before them. They don't feel old so why should they retire?"

Buckland says when baby boomers entered the workforce during the 1970s there was a good reason to push the old guard out of the workforce, but that pressure doesn't exist today.

"In the 1970s there were so many young people needing jobs that the baby boomer bulge was creating problems _ in the end older workers moved on so young people could start to make progress," says Buckland.

"But because there is a skills gap and a shortage of people today, there is nothing pushing baby boomers into retirement. And they have so many benefits to staying in the workforce _ not least of which is that they have a standard of living they want to maintain."

Buckland says if baby boomers aren't planning to retire then it follows that they will have little interest in retirement planning. That's something that may cause the financial services industry some concern.

"According to my survey baby boomers don't see retirement as one of their life aspirations, so why have retirement plans, why would they make financial provisions?" she says. "Baby boomers are not the retiring sort _ they are not worried about getting older and 80 per cent of those in the survey say age is a state of mind."

So what does all this mean for the Gen Ys who are nipping at the heels of baby boomers? Buckland says the good news for Gen Ys is that boomers don't want to carry on doing the same thing. They are looking for change.

"Baby boomers want time to do other stuff," she says. "Like the Gen Ys, the older generation want it all. And the big message for the Gen Ys is that they are off the hook.

"Not only are they not going to be asked to pay the huge financial cost of retiring baby boomers, the predicted economic slowdown caused by older workers leaving the workforce isn't going to happen."

Buckland says baby boomers will work smarter rather than harder as they get older, and will be keen to share their expertise, experience and knowledge with younger people.

"They want to share information," says Buckland.

"And most baby boomers will continue to be productive in the workplace if employers can keep them there. My research shows that they will not stick at doing a job they find boring _ even if the money is really good." Buckland also says 30 per cent of Boomers plan to start a new career before they stop work altogether and 21 per cent want to start a new business. But are the over-45s starting businesses because they can't get a paid job?

Buckland says some of the research released by other organisations based on information from the recruitment industry appears to show that older people can't get jobs and so have little choice but to start a business. But as far as she is concerned, it doesn't add up.

"I am not entirely sure that recruiters reflect the views of employers," says Buckland. "People who took part in my survey say they are not disadvantaged by their employer at work.

"A lot of the views held by people working in the recruitment industry are _ in my view _ based on this old-fashioned idea that baby boomers are ready to retire. "Recruiters seem to have a lot of prejudices in them based on what the previous generation did _ but the premise that you can predict what baby boomers will do based on what their parents did is flawed."

BABY BOOMER FACTS

* 75pc would not do a boring job even if the money was good.
* 80pc would rather be stressed at work than bored.
* 85pc have high expectations of their employers.
* 50pc would like extra pay.
* 52pc need to feel respected by their boss and colleagues.
* 85pc expect to get pleasure and fulfilment from their work.
* 78pc want opportunities to learn and develop.
* 66pc will spend the next five to 10 years excelling at their job.
* 21pc want to start a business.
* 83pc say work is important to their self-esteem.
* 93pc use a computer and are technically literate.
* 95pc feel they have made a meaningful contribution to their job.
* 91pc are worried about protecting their health over the next five to 10 years.
Sample: 1162 people
Source / Sharon Buckland