As the largest generation in U.S. history, baby boomers have always defined the times. As children in the 1950s, it was the age of innocence, as teenagers in the ’60s members of this generation led massive protests for social change, and when they began to marry and have children in the ’70s, boomers redefined our concepts of family.
Today, as the boomer generation hits their 60s, they are redefining the retirement landscape as well. Once considered a passive time when you stopped working and relaxed, “retirement” for this generation means living longer and pursuing more active lifestyles than ever before. A growing number even consider retirement to be a second career.
In the process of serving over 400 organizations with unbiased financial education programs, we see a new industry for retirement education emerging dedicated to helping this and future generations retire successfully. Historically, retirees have had limited sources to educate themselves on this time of their lives, often turning to one another to learn about retirement, or to the media–typically newspapers, financial radio talk shows, and occasional retirement segments on television.