More Americans than ever are working past the age of 65, according to Labor Department statistics cited by The New York Times. As longevity and health care improves, and as the economy remains tight, more Matures, along with the leading edge of the Baby Boomers, are deciding to stay on the job. Employment among every age group above 65, including those above 75, has risen steadily. The ranks of the 65+ in the workforce swelled noticeably in the last year as the first Boomers reached the traditional retirement-age milestone. “The fact of the matter is that this aging-but-not-yet-aged segment of… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Matures, Work, WorkplaceA new Allianz survey shows that Baby Boomers think it’s more important for a family to pass on its non-material legacy than to pass on its wealth. 86% of Boomers said it was important for elders to pass on their family’s history and stories to their descendants. 64% place importance on the inheritance of family possessions. But only 9% consider a financial inheritance to be vital. The Matures, the Boomers parents, generally agree with their offspring though they place a relatively higher priority on leaving behind some wealth for their kids. In comparison with the same survey conducted in 2005,… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Blog, MaturesBoomers are losing their expected inheritance to their parents’ longevity, according to an analysis in the Wall Street Journal. Matures who have reached their late 60s have as much as a 50-50 chance of living well into their 80s and many into their 90s. Thanks to medical and longevity gains, 85-and-over is the fastest growing age group in the nation. But thanks to that longevity, the Boomers expected inheritance is shrinking as long-lived retirees use their resources to support themselves. It’s long been estimated that over $40 trillion in inheritance would change hands in the first half of this century…. Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Matures, WorkMuch has been made of Boomers and even Matures working well-past retirement age and potentially denying opportunities to Millennials entering the job market. A new study from the Center for Retirement Research shows that the number of workers staying on after retirement age has steadily increased, whether from necessity or desire, over the last 35 years. However, increased numbers of retirement-age workers corresponds to more opportunities for younger generations, not less. The study shows that when older workers stay on the job, they create more economic growth and consumer demand, which, in turn, create more opportunities for younger workers. “Older… Read More
Categories: Generations, Matures, Recession Economy, WorkAlmost exactly one year ago, Pew took a generational look at the coming election and found a distinct generation gap: the preferences of the youngest and the oldest groups of voters were distinctly at odds. A year and billions of dollars of campaigning has altered that basic equation only slightly. Pew’s final look at the demographics of the 2012 election reflects essentially the same gap as its first. In October 2011, Millennials favored the Democratic candidate by a margin of 26 points. Today that margin is 21. A year ago Matures preferred the Republican candidate by a margin of 10…. Read More
Categories: Generations, Matures, Voting BehaviorStudies of generational philanthropy show that different generations give to charity differently, both in amount and in how they choose a charity. Various studies show that donors from the Mature and Baby Boomer generations tend to give to charities that they are familiar with or have a personal connection to. Gen Xers and Millennials, on the other hand, tend to choose philanthropies that support causes that are important to them, even if those causes are far removed from any personal or community connection. So, while a Boomer might donate to a health organization because she knows those involved and affected… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Charity, Generations, MaturesIn the 1930s and 40s, the Depression and World War II suppressed birth rates and created the Silent Generation (now part of the Matures) who were named “Silent” in part because there were so few of them. And the advent of the birth control pill in the 1960s had the same effect, leading to the “Baby Bust,” now known as Generation X. Now, the 2010 U.S. Census indicates that the current generation of children, born mostly to the smallish Generation X, represents the next “baby bust.” Census figures show that children now make up a smaller percentage of the nation’s… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generations, MaturesMillennials are starting to feel like the dream of home ownership is just that – a dream. As the leading edge of the generation moves into its 30s, many of them are still finding the goal of owning a home elusive. According to the Federal Reserve, only 9% of 29-34 year olds got a mortgage between 2009 and 2011. That’s about half the rate of a decade ago for the same age group. According to CreditKarma.com, only 11% of twenty-somethings have a mortgage compared with figure of 30% for all consumers. Millennials are victims of a perfect storm that’s keeping… Read More
Categories: Home Ownership, Matures, Recession EconomyAccording to the Pew Center’s latest look at social media, Baby Boomers and Matures are now the demographics driving explosive growth in social networking, while Millennials’ use of such sites has flattened. While social networking sites are still enormously popular among Millennials – 83% use them – growth in their popularity within the younger demographic has stalled, and even declined over the past year (from 86%). On the other hand, the growth in the use of social media among older generations has been as phenomenal as it was among Millennials just a few years ago. Over the past two years,… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generations, Matures