Baby Boomer Insights

Remodel or move? Boomers investing more in their current homes

My house is a disaster right now. Dust everywhere. Paint sample cans multiplying like bunnies. Wallpaper books and carpet samples leaned against the wall. That's right - we're doing some remodeling. Well, I guess it's still remodeling even if we aren't moving walls, right? That's the only thing we're not doing. We're repainting, re-wallpapering, re-flooring and retiling. With four bedrooms and five bathrooms, it's a project, alright. I love it, though. It's about time we put into action some of the tips we've learned from thousands of hours of watching HGTV.

Two weeks ago we got a new roof and had the outside of the house repainted and this weekend I even repainted the mailbox. Neighbors are stopping by to ask if we're putting the house on the market (which would draw a lot of attention - homes rarely go up for sale in our neighborhood). We've told them it's just time to refresh 16 years after we custom-built the place. We plan to stay a while longer. I can't tell if they're surprised or disappointed. Either way, they ask for our contractors' contact information.

We intended to sell a couple of years ago when our youngest daughter went off to college, but then the housing market tanked about 12 hours after she graduated from high school. We decided to put off all things house-related for a while longer to see what happened.

Turns out that once again we're smack in the middle of a boomer trend. According to research recently released by Mintel, a market research firm, 36% of boomers expect to spend more on home improvements in the next couple of years than in the past couple of years. And 41% may or may not spend more, but say their home is where most of their investment dollars will go over the next few years.

Boomers have spent years accumulating wealth and buying big homes. The recession has caused a lot of changes - from losing those unaffordable homes to increasing the number of people who share them. According to an article in USA Today, the number of Americans living in multigenerational households between 2007-08 increased by 2.6 million. College kids are returning home while they look for work and their grandparents are often moving in to save money or perhaps share the expenses with their children. (I grew up in a multigeneration home - my paternal grandmother lived with us during my entire childhood and right up until she died after all of us were grown and had homes of our own. I loved having her there full time!)

Even with the economy starting to bounce back, look for the remodeling trend to continue. Boomers don't want to flee to Florida to live out their golden years. We'd rather stay close to our kids and the communities we've helped to build.

So, sorry, neighbors, you're stuck with us for a while longer.  And we're happy to share the contact information for our workmen. After all, your house is starting to look a bit worn too, hint hint.

Encore careers increasingly attract boomers: by 2018, we'll rule the job market

Ralph and I were at a concert recently and when it ended and the performer walked off stage, I said, "Do you think we should wait to see if she does an encore?" A guy sitting next to us immediately piped in, "I've seen her five times and she always does two encores. She'll sing two more songs, leave again, then come back for two more." And here I thought encores were more spontaneous than that, generally driven by audience demand!

It got me to thinking about boomers and encores. The fact is many boomers are already planning their encore - in this case, an encore career - well before they officially "retire." And no wonder. According to a recent report  funded by the Metlife Foundation, Barry Bluestone, Dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University, says the U.S. is about eight years away from having five million potential job vacancies and boomers will be in particularly high demand. Metlife has been working closely with Civic Ventures, a group I've been following for some time now, to study boomer patterns on several fronts, including employment.

Their research confirms what we've all heard before - that most boomers won't retire as early as the generations before them, in part because they don't have the financial means to do so, but also because they like to work and want to leave a legacy of having made a valuable contribution to the world. That's why so many will turn to encore careers that "combine personal meaning, continued income and social impact." Bluestone says there will be plenty of jobs for these encore career seekers to fill and in so doing, they'll be answering a call to service that's badly needed in this country.

There will be 15 specific jobs that beg for experienced workers and most require something boomers excel at: problem solving and a desire to give back to the community.

If you read Sunday's New York Times, perhaps you saw this article about some corporate executives who have gotten a jump on seeking their encore careers by participating in a pilot program that's known as Encore Fellowships, sponsored by Civic Ventures. Each of 10 corporate executives left jobs in the private sector to spend six months or year to work with nonprofits. I encourage you to read their stories and learn what they took away from the experience. In a nutshell, all thought it was a very fulfilling way to invest their time and energy.

One paragraph in the NYT story that jumped out at me was this. "Research into the changing- and increasingly aging - work force has also been accompanied by encouraging findings on the mental abilities of the aging. While older people's memories and ability to process information are not as sharp, their knowledge increases over time, and many say that is a vast untapped resource. All of this points to the possibility of a kind of intellectual rejuvenation at a time of life typically thought best suited to winding down. Sociologists studying the implications of the lengthening of life span, with an average gain in industrialized countries of roughly 30 years over the past century, are watching the pilot program here closely."

I'm not surprised by the success of the encore jobs experiment. It simply reaffirms my personal feelings, as well as what my friends have shared - we all want to work well past the "standard" retirement age, but we want to do it on our own terms and in jobs that let us truly make a difference and use our skills. Employers would be wise to pay attention to this trend. Boomers are often an uptapped resource, in part because of the assumption that we've had our day in the spotlight and now it's time to move over and let the younger generations take over.

If Bluestone is right, there won't BE enough Gen Xers right behind us to carry the full load. The only way all the upcoming jobs will be filled is if boomers are willing to take them on.

Lucky me, I get to work for a company that has a lot of clients in the nonprofit space, as well as corporate clients yearning to "do good," so I get an opportunity to see firsthand these changes and can already imagine myself playing a role on the inside of one of those organizations in the future.

How about you? Are you already planning your encore career? If so, what's it going to be? And what message would you want to give employers about your plan?

Boomers embrace medical tourism: good or bad?

Over the past couple of weeks I've talked to three people - all boomers - who told me they were considering traveling overseas to have medical procedures done. Each cited cost, access and convenience as their primary reasons. And they were quick to note they weren't seeking cosmetic surgery. On the contrary, two were seeking a knee replacement and the other a hip replacement. One said his sister recently had successful dental work done in Mexico, which is what made him start thinking about venturing beyond the U.S.

So when I received a note from the American Society of Anesthesiologists last week, I paid more attention than I normally might. It seems the concept of medical tourism is catching on so rapidly, the ASA has developed educational materials to help patients make better decisions about seeking care in other countries. You can find the resources here.

According to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, in 2008 approximately 540,000 Americans traveled abroad for medical care. Estimates are that by 2012, that number could grow to 1.6 million (that's a compound annual growth rate of 35%!). It's not hard to understand why medical tourism is growing, considering that patients can save as much as 70% in costs.

Expect boomers to help lead the charge here, too. Many of the most popular procedures are sought by boomers, including heart bypass, heart valve replacement, hip and knee replacements, alternative cancer treatment, as well as some cosmetic procedures, such as eye lid surgery and face lifts. Our desire to remain active, live longer and slow the aging process while managing money better are a powerful combination to make any boomer take a second look at whether it makes sense to go abroad.

Obviously, money doesn't always ensure quality; otherwise, why would the most expensive health care in the world (here in the U.S.) rank only 37th in quality (according to the Commonwealth Fund)?

Many boomers have had tremendous sucess in seeking alternative treatments to some conditions. Remember Farrah Fawcett's determination to seek treatment overseas for her cancer? She often said it was the only reason she lived as long as she did.

Drs. Amrik Singh and Joseph Antognini of the ASA recognize the medical tourism trend will continue, so they've offered some specific advice on what kind of research patients should do an what questions they would be wise to ask before jetting off to an exotic locale for a cut-rate procedure. I strongly recommend reading their insightful Q&A if you or someone you know is considering medical tourism.

They discuss the implications of culture on everything from doctors' credentials, to pain mangement, to availability of preop and postop care, to the availability of drugs. Neither doctor seems to take a "don't do it" stand; rather, they encourage patients to be vigilant in considering all the variables of seeking medical care abroad.

While I've had numerous medical procedures - from "serious" surgery like two kidney transplants to a C-section for a preemie, to major plastic surgery following skin cancer that took half my nose -I can't say that I've ever considered leaving the safety, comfort and convenience of my local group of doctors to seek care elsewhere. But I've also had the luxury of robust insurance coverage for my entire adult life. As I age, my care gets more frequent and expensive. There could come a day when my insurance simply won't cut it any more and I'll have to pony up more of my own dollars for treatment. Many of my fellow boomers are in the same boat. But you can be sure I'll research it to death before taking any risk at all.

I'm curious - what would you do? Would you consider going abroad for medical care?

Boomers rule the Oscars! Acceptance speeches reflect boomer values

If you've known me longer than five minutes, you know I LOVE movies! I'd go see one every single day if I had the time. I even spend part of my vacation time each year attending a film festival so I can see what may or may not ever make it to American theaters. (In fact, it was at a film festival that I saw "The Messenger" and "Precious" before they were released.) So, I anticipate the Academy Awards as much as anyone and last night's was no disappointment, in part because there were so many fabulous artists to admire, but also because it was a night for boomers.

Did you realize that all the major category winners, except one, Mo'Nique, are boomers? What a kick to see Kathryn Bigelow (58) become the first woman ever to win the statue for directing! Meanwhile, Jeff Bridges (60) finally won on his fifth nomination for best actor. Sandra Bullock (45, the youngest boomer) took home a little gold man for her fabulous performance in "The Blind Side" and Christoph Waltz (53) won for his great performance in (IMHO a terrible movie) "Inglorious Basterds."

One thing they all have in common is that they've spent years studying their craft and turning in solid performances time and again. But what I also enjoyed was hearing how their acceptance speeches reflected boomer values and experiences.

Kathryn Bigelow used her time to thank the soliders who fight on behalf of our country. Rather than use her stage time to protest the war, she let the film speak for itself and took satisfaction in knowing that her win will most likely result in more people seeing the movie and getting her message. (Boomers have evolved from our days of carrying protest signs to speaking out by using our skills.)

Jeff Bridges focused on the importance of family, thanking his parents, his wife of 33 years, his daughters and his family of actors who helped make "Crazy Heart" his best work. (Boomers tend to be close to their families and friends.)

Christoph Waltz thanked Quentin Tarantino and his castmates for the lessons learned from exploration, noting that it was their gift for navigation that enabled him to try something new and to challenge himself. (We boomers love to try new things!)

Sandra Bullock first honored her peers, offering each a gracious nod for their own fine work before emotionally thanking her late mother who taught her that "We are all deserving of love." (Boomers have led the movement toward equality and self-actualization.)

What I love most is that each of these artists chose to take the high road, developing and using their talent to influence others. Too often, boomers are seen as self-absorbed mouthy malcontents looking for a platform to push an agenda. These winners all prove you can make an important point simply be being the best at what you are and trusting that others will see the value. Congratulations to them all!