Saturday, February 2, 2008

Retirement - Boomers vs. Xers

By now, most people have heard the mantra that Babyboomers are redefining retirement and the later years will no longer be filled with endless games of shuffleboard. But will Gen X do the same?

I was at a seminar this week and Chicago where the question of whether Gen Xers will also redefine retirement came up. The speaker said that it's too early to tell. However, I completely disagree.

My husband and I have already talked about this topic. I have a 90-year-old aunt who lives alone and spends most of her time alone while she struggles to keep her house up. She refuses to move. To my husband and me, this life is really sad.

We have decided that we want to go to a retirement village when we get old. I'm not talking about a nursing home, I'm talking about those places where all the seniors have their own golf cart and they spend their evenings at special events planned especially for them.

The way we see it, by the time we're ready for retirement village, we can go there with all our buddies, listen to some Motley Crue and party some. Kind of like the dorms, without having to go to class. We will also be able to have quality time with our kids and grandkids without burdening them with having to go get us groceries (we want a place that includes meals).

While Boomers seem to want to spend their later years mountain climbing and motorcycling in an effort to prove they are not getting old, I think Xers in some ways be more like today's seniors (except for the lame membership into the Red Hat society).

No comments: