Many an economist cringes at the thought of the next few decades and the effect on the economy of the Baby Boomer generation reaching retirement age. What will happen when Social Security is bankrupt, when the cost of caring for this generation becomes such a strain on the economy? Is there an alternative ending, one where our resources can not only meet the challenge but perhaps even grow through this period?
Marc Freedman starts his book "Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life" looking at the two possible extremes of what the next several years hold out for us. Most of the forecasts focus on the extreme burden that will be placed on society by the aging of the boomer generation, but Freedman focuses instead on the difference that could be made by a paradigm shift in the way we look at retirement.
Freedman is founder and CEO of San Francisco based Civic Ventures, a "think tank on boomers, work, and social purpose" according to their website. The New York Times described him as "the voice of aging baby boomers who are eschewing retirement for ... meaningful and sustaining work later in life. "Encore" takes a look at the existing view of retirement and suggests that a new approach to the retirement years can dramatically reshape the future and the way we look at the later years of life.
Such a paradigm shift is not unheard of. In fact, Freedman suggests that our current view is something that was largely created by marketing by developers and financial products managers. Up until the 1950's, retirement was seen as a time when people were forced out of work and into a life of boredom and eventual poverty. In a short period of time developments such as Sun City and Leisureworld sprang up and sold the concept of a time of relaxation and leisure activity, something that has been earned by a lifetime of hard work. Financial services caught on and began to emphasize investing for a retirement life of leisure, and the concept caught on, to the point now that for many the goal has become to be able to take an early retirement.
As this new concept of retirement took shape, it was a time when most could expect to live another seven to ten years on the average. However, in an age with a much larger percentage of the population nearing retirement age and reasonably able to expect even more years of life (and healthier years as well), the old model of retirement will be extremely difficult to sustain both on a personal level and a societal level.
As a result, our best hope may be in a change in the way we look at the retirement years. It is a change that is not necessarily dictated by necessity, but also by a changing mindset of the Boomer generation. Ultimately, a life of leisure may just be too boring for many, and after years of working in corporate America many are finding a desire to make a lasting impact. Freedman suggests a new paradigm that is taking shape now, where instead of saving up and preparing for a life of leisure and inactivity, that instead those preparations are now about being able to move into a phase of meaningful work. He identifies a number of examples of people who have moved into what he calls Encore careers, now stepping up as teachers or non profit workers and administrators. He shows people using their life and work experience to now make an impact in meaningful ways. When they were raising families, people may not have been able to get by on the pay that went with working with the homeless or teaching in urban high need schools, but now their income requirements may not be as high or they are better able to supplement their income with retirement income, and this frees them up to do work that makes a difference.
Encore struck a cord deeply for me, considering my recent journey into moving towards working with older adults. I find myself moving into a sort of encore career myself (granted without some of the resources that many he referred to may have) where I'm finding a calling in my own life. Of course it is a sort of double whammy for me because it provides some food for thought for the very people I want to assist and a sort of direction for many to consider as they move into this stage of life. As a result, I find this book moving right towards the top of the "must read" list.
In fact, I don't believe the audience should be limited just to those thinking of retiring and/or considering such an "Encore career." The reality is that the challenge of supporting a massive wave of people moving into the later years of life is indeed going to be overwhelming especially under the present approach to retirement. In the end it will be very much like Freedman points out at the start of his book, either a huge calamity or a grand opportunity. It is a chance for a generation to define itself, will it go out selfishly expecting society to support it in a life of leisure, or will it use this time as a great opportunity to 'give back,' continuing to work to support itself as much as able to while at the same time serving society rather than taking from it? Because of this impending dilemma, it is incredibly important for anyone who is working with people in this generation in any capacity, whether it be ministry or counselling or financially, to start looking at the viewpoint suggested by Freedman. There is still time for us to determine how this will end up. What will we do?
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