- Boomers will re-define life between 60-80. It will be about lifestyle and not retirement
People are living longer than ever before; this change in life expectancy has altered each stage of the lifecycle. Mr Salt believes baby boomers are set to redefine what it means to be older.
“Boomers will reject many of the tags associated with life beyond full-time work. The word ‘retirement’ will be rejected by boomers because they associate this term with concepts like ‘obsolete’. Boomers will never ‘retire’ but they will ‘seachange’ and ‘treechange’.
“Unlike previous generations, most baby boomers will enjoy 20 years of good health once they have completed full time work. They will use this time to develop ‘portfolio lifestyles’ which means a mix of paid work, volunteering, family, spirituality and even (sedate) sport.
“Boomers will also reject the tag ‘senior citizen’ because they will see it as a derogatory term,” said Mr Salt.
Commenting on the impact on the aged care sector Mr Salt said, “the real boom in aged care will not hit for a number of years yet, with the oldest Boomers now 20 years away from requiring assisted living. Acute healthcare pressure will not peak until the late 2020s. In the meantime it’s all about lifestyle.”