As the largest generation in U.S. history, baby boomers have always defined the times. As children in the 1950s, it was the age of innocence, as teenagers in the '60s members of this generation led massive protests for social change, and when they began to marry and have children in the '70s, boomers redefined our concepts of family.
Today, as the boomer generation hits their 60s, they are redefining the retirement landscape as well. Once considered a passive time when you stopped working and relaxed, "retirement" for this generation means living longer and pursuing more active lifestyles than ever before. A growing number even consider retirement to be a second career.
In the process of serving over 400 organizations with unbiased financial education programs, we see a new industry for retirement education emerging dedicated to helping this and future generations retire successfully. Historically, retirees have had limited sources to educate themselves on this time of their lives, often turning to one another to learn about retirement, or to the media–typically newspapers, financial radio talk shows, and occasional retirement segments on television.
Now pre-retirees and retirees have unlimited sources of information on retirement:
- Other Retirees With more retirees who have longer life expectancy, there are millions of retirees who can share their experiences and advice to help others plan for, and live in, retirement.
- Media The concept of mass media has expanded to include the Internet, cable news channels, satellite radio, a whole category of financial and retirement planning books, tapes, DVDs, and financial planning kits and materials.
- Retirement and financial "gurus" These are people like Suze Orman, David Bach, and prominent financial planners who dominate retirement coverage in their local markets with sage (and sometimes not so sage) advice on how to retire comfortably.
- Employers As pension plans decline, some employers are helping workers make smart choices about managing and investing their retirement assets. Most employers have a retirement education program in place to help employees retire comfortably. Generally this consists of live workshops, in-person financial planning consultations, online financial planning tools, and print materials.
- Financial Planners As more planners look to serve the baby boomer generation, they are beginning to integrate retirement education into their financial planning practices through workshops, newsletters, content on their Web sites, and free consultations and plans for pre-retirees and retirees focused on informing them about their options.
If you don't educate your clients about retirement, chances are good that someone else will. In the table at right are some tips on how you can become the trusted resource for your clients on all their retirement needs so that they don't have to turn anywhere else.
