We are Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, and currently are well-established in our careers and hold positions of power and authority. We are today's business and community leaders.
We are confident, independent, competitive workaholics, motivated by challenging projects and prestige. Simply put, we equate work with self-worth.
Thus, retirement scares us!
There are several reasons why:
Financial: We share the nagging question of, "Will I have enough to last throughout my entire retirement?" In this unstable economy, it's estimated that as much as 40 percent of the workforce is afraid to retire for economic reasons.
Attachment to a job title: The closer we get to the CEO level, the more of a trauma retirement is. We like saying we are executives, professionals, business owners. We fear a lack of identity if we retire.
Sense of purpose: As members of the workforce, we feel we are contributing to society. While essential, volunteer service has not brought us that satisfaction.
Routine: The eight-to-five work day gives us such structure that we careerists sometimes silently dread weekends and vacation time. At work, we are in our controlled "comfort" zone.
Family pressures: Spending unlimited time with a spouse, or going to family reunions rather than business conferences, can put new pressures on our marital relationships.
Hobbies: Our careers have been our hobbies. If we traveled, it was to attend educational/career seminars, with a few days off for leisure. Sadly, we even took up golfing in order to make business connections.
Life transition: We associate retiring with the "final stage" of life, and deterioration of the body.
The fear of retirement is fear of the unknown. We Baby Boomers, once confident that we could change the world, are entering foreign territory.
What can we do to alleviate our fears?
Begin planning our retirement five years before we exit the workforce.
Make a plan that covers only the first two or three years of our retirement, not the rest of our lives. Unlike our careers, retirement offers flexibility.
View retirement as creating a different lifestyle. When we went to college, started our first job, got married, had children, we created new lifestyles. Retirement should be no different.
Expand the definition of who we are. Include more than just CEO, professional, in the description of who we are.
Stay involved. Remain current on the news and new technologies to keep pace with those younger up and comers.
Continue to make a contribution. Retirement is our chance to reinvent ourselves, even begin new careers as writers, advisors or seasoned consultants.
Stop taking ourselves so seriously. It's time that we responsible Baby Boomers play hooky and allow ourselves to have fun. After a life of hard work, we deserve it.
