Come visit! Well, maybe…
Posted On December 14, 2017
America’s Baby Boomers are at the age where they are either retiring or thinking about retiring. Many of them will move south to Florida – a state that has become known as much for its retirement communities as its beaches and theme parks. Others will go west to Arizona, drawn by the warm, dry climate. Increasingly, however, they are venturing outside their homeland. According to Forbes contributor Alexandra Talty, an increasing number of Americans are retiring abroad. The Social Security Administration sent 100,000 more payments per month overseas this year than it did in 2016 – up to 500,000 from… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Retirement
Boomers: One Generation, Two Different Animals
Posted On September 20, 2017
They say you can never stop learning. If you’re a financial adviser, you should strive to prove that theory. One of the important things we need to keep re-learning is how different generations prefer to handle their money — or even different subsets within the same generation. Many advisers, for instance, may think they know all there is to know about Baby Boomer clients. Many advisers are Baby Boomers themselves. But there are important differences to consider even within the Baby Boomer generation. While many leading boomers, born from 1946 to ’55, are already retired, trailing boomers who were born… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Financial Services, Wealth
Mirror Mirror On the Wall, Who Snacks Most of All?
Posted On June 27, 2017
“Which Generation Snacks the Most?” the headline reads at TheStreet.com. And then, as if anticipating our answer, it adds: “It’s not millennials.” How can it not be millennials? They’re the ones playing all the video games and Snapchatting on their iPhones. How do you spend all that time doing such things without a bag of Dorito’s on the couch beside you? But according to TheStreet, it’s neither millennials nor iGen, who will be right there on the couch beside them if there are enough Xbox controllers, that snacks the most. It’s Baby Boomers. TheStreet last year cited research from the… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y / Millennials
Is it Stuff? Or Heirlooms? Not sure…
Posted On June 2, 2017
Gen-Xers and millennials have things easier than our Baby Boomer parents and grandparents in so many ways. We have grown up with technology and are comfortable with it. We’ve had advances in medicine that have made us healthier. We pay our bills online, buy our groceries with a piece of plastic and carry portable computers in our pockets, a world of information just a click away. One thing that has become more difficult over the years, however, is deciding what to do with our parents’ possessions when they pass away. While treasured heirlooms such as china, silver and antiques have… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generations, Matures, Wealth
Contrary to Popular Myths, the Millennials Aren’t the Only Game in Town
Posted On May 30, 2017
You have, no doubt, been inundated by now with advice on how to market to millennials, and with good reason. They are not only the largest segment of the workforce, but also the largest segment of consumers. You know to keep your website up-to-date, with easy-to-use customer service tools and a format that translates across multiple platforms. You know to take advantage of social media marketing tools, and to engage with your customers through a variety of channels. You know to create not only value, but a sense of global responsibility and citizenship for your customers when they do business… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers
Are Changing Ethics a Reflection of Life Stages? Let’s hope…
Posted On May 17, 2017
Has relativism taken over in the digital age? Are millennials more likely to believe the ends justify the means? Does the largest generation in today’s workplace believe that ethics are negotiable in business? The Wall Street Journal recently cited an EY survey that would seem to say so – or at least that it’s more prevalent than in previous generations. In interviewing more than 4,000 people in 41 countries in Europe, the Mideast, Africa and India, the study found that one in four of the millennials surveyed could justify paying bribes in order to support their business (compared to 14… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generation Y / Millennials, Work, Workplace
Grandparents here, there, and everywhere.
Posted On March 24, 2017
During his stand-up routine in the Spike Lee movie, “The Kings of Comedy,” the late comedian Bernie Mac had a memorable bit bemoaning the disappearance of grandmothers. He wasn’t necessarily talking about grandmothers in the literal sense, but grandmothers as he knew them growing up – old ladies who had no patience for foolishness and no qualms about yanking an unruly youngster in line. “Big Mama’s gone,” Mac said. “What’s Big Mama now, 36?” Are grandparents really getting younger? According to the Wall Street Journal, not so much. With nearly one in seven children in the U.S. now being born… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generation Y / Millennials, Generations
Fewer Family Businesses to be Passed to Next Generation
Posted On January 31, 2017
I’ve written in this space before about the need for succession planning. The long-term viability of your business may depend on it – particularly for family-owned business that want to maintain family control. But PwC’s annual family business survey found a decreasing number of owners who planned to keep their businesses in the family. Of the survey respondents who foresaw a change in ownership within the next five years – admittedly a small number at 17 percent – only 52 percent were planning to pass their companies down to another family member. That’s the lowest number since 2010, according to… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Entrepreneurship, Generation X, Succession Planning, Work
Boomer’s Influence on Politics Coming to an End? And Will the Younger Gens go the Other Way?
Posted On November 2, 2016
Millennials have made their voices heard in this year’s contentious presidential election, mostly through the vociferous support for Democratic primary candidate Bernie Sanders – a phenomenon I explored in a blog back in May. After Sanders fell in the primary to Hillary Clinton, their level of support for the Democratic nominee may play a role in whether she or Republican Donald Trump wins the presidency. Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank recently cited polls showing Trump leading slightly among Baby Boomers while trailing among Gen-Xers and millennials. Milbank offered the opinion that Baby Boomers’ preference for the combative Trump is proof… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y / Millennials, Voting Behavior
Retirement With Gobs of Debt – A Boomer Dilemma
Posted On October 4, 2016
How much debt are you carrying? Most of us have some credit card debt. Many of us also have mortgages or student loans. Some of us are also carrying debt from home equity loans or lines of credit. As we get older, the volume of debt we’re carrying becomes an exponentially greater threat to our retirement – particularly with the demise of pensions and private-sector retiree healthcare benefits. One might think Baby Boomers would be past some of this, having gone to college before tuition skyrocketed and having had plenty of time to pay off their homes. But while they… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Home Ownership, Retirement