Oh, Grow Up! : The Baby Boomers Are Freaking Out Over the Inevitable Passage of Time

1957 WAS A POPULAR YEAR FOR BABIES

Year Number of births 1945 2.9 million 1946 3.4 million 1947 3.8 million 1957 4.7 million 1964 4.0 million 1965 3.8 million 1975 3.1 million 1985 3.7 million 1989 4.0 million 1990 4.2 million

The baby-boom generation, born during 1946 to 1964, now represents about one-third of the U.S. population.

Percentage of baby boomers in the work force today: 54%.

The median age of the population will shift as the baby-boom population matures.

Median age Year 1 1986 38 2010 42 2050

Source: U.S. Census

A GLOSSARY TRIPLE SQUEEZE: having to pay or save for a child’s education, support an aging parent and save for retirement at the same time. ECHO BOOMERS: children of baby boomers BABY BUSTERS: the generation following the baby boom, born between 1965 and 1984. THE BABY BOOMLET: a rise in the number of births that began in 1985. VANGUARD BOOMERS: baby boomers aged 36 to 45. LAST-CHANCE BABIES: babies born to women aged 35 and older. GRUMPIES: aging yuppies, a group demographers refer to as grown-up mature professionals. Source: Los Angeles Times Files

BOOMER BUCKS “I cannot invest for the long term because I need immediate access to my money” 37% of boomers say this statement describes them very well 30% say statement describes them somewhat 16% say the statement does not describe them at all 1% say they don’t know.

The most important financial goals for boomers are: Home ownership: 34% Retirement: 17% Education for children: 14% Recreation, real estate, business: 5% Miscellaneous: 19% Do not know: 11% Source: The Baby Boom Generation: a Financial Portrait Investment Company Institute

THE SNEAKER FACTOR Percentage of people who wear sneakers to and from work most of the time: Male: 19% Female: 35% Age 18-24: 49% Age 25-34: 26% Age 35-44: 28% Age 45-54: 14% Age 55-64: 23% Source: Opinion Research Corp.

WORK, WORK, WORK 86%of boomer men are employed full-time 6% of boomer men are employed part-time 57% of boomer women are employed full-time 13% of boomer women are employed part-time 65% of employed baby boomers say they have yet to reach job “plateaus” 17% claim to have reached their work or career peak 13% are past their peak Employed baby boomers would like to retire at following age: 50 and under,: 25% 51-55: 19% 56-60: 17% 61-65: 23% 66-70: 5% 71 and over: 2% no age/never: 7% no opinion: 2% Source: Gallup poll

ALONE AGAIN, NATURALLY Percentage of people never married Women Aged 20-24 years: 1970: 35.8% 1980: 50.2% 1990: 62.8% Women aged 25-29 years: 1970: 10.5% 1980: 20.9% 1990: 31.1% Women aged 30-34 years: 1970: 6.2% 1980: 9.5% 1990: 16.4% Men 20-24 years: 1970: 54.7% 1980: 68.8% 1990: 79.3% Men aged 25-29 years: 1970: 19.1% 1980: 33.1% 1990: 45.2% Men aged 30-34 years: 1970: 9.4% 1980: 15.9% 1990: 27.0% Source: U.S. Census

MIDLIFE STRESS In general, how much stress is in your daily life?

A lot Some Not much Total 26% 50% 19% Male 23% 52% 20% Female 29% 49% 17% Age 18-34 22% 55% 19% 25-34 27% 55% 15% 35-49 32% 50% 15% 50-64 22% 44% 22% 65+ 19% 36% 34%

Source: The Mitchum Report on Stress in the ‘90s, Research & Forecasts Inc.

GRAY OR BALD? Baby boomers who have been through what may be called a “midlife crisis”: Yes: 27% No: 69% No opinion: 4%

THE BRIGHT SIDE Baby boomers believe they will be better off than their parents in these areas: Financial: 76% Personal life: 84% Family life: 74% Source: Gallup poll

SOME BOOMER FACTS TO WORRY ABOUT Only six in 100 baby boomers will achieve the “ideal” family: a lifetime marriage with two children, a boy and a girl. One baby boomer in six will have no children. Baby boomers will work at 10 different jobs during their lives. The baby-boom vote will make a difference for the first time in the presidential election of 1992. American social consciousness will reawaken in the year 2010. Baby boomers will not be able to save enough money on their own for a comfortable retirement. Baby boomers will rediscover communal living in the next century. At least one-third of elderly baby boomers will have hearing problems. The last baby boomer will die about 2069. Source: from “100 Predictions for the Baby Boom: the Next 50 Years,” by Cheryl Russell. Plenum Press, 1987.