In the News

As published in the Norwich Bulletin, June 13, 2006.

As Baby Boomers Age, Many Cling to Youth

By Julie A. Varughese

The movers and shakers of the baby boomer generation aren't going to cash in their retirement savings just yet.

The first set of 78 million baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, are turning 60 this year.

But with the traditional retirement age of 65 looming not too far in the future, it doesn't seem many boomers, such as 57-year-old attorney Stuart Norman Jr. of Jewett City, will take their sunset years sitting down -- at least not in a rocking chair.

Norman said he won't retire for another 20 years and can't picture himself going to a senior center.

Dr. George Kuchel, a physician and director of the University of Connecticut Center on Aging, said boomers are very different from those of the previous generation because
of their go-getter attitude toward their health.

"People are increasingly healthy and many people are not ready to retire," he said. "They may retire from one position at 65, only to take on another."

Kuchel said boomers also tend to have higher expectations of their health and health care and have been very proactive.

"Their parents and grandparents accepted aging as a time of slowing down and were very accepting of the problems that aging brings," he said. "As a generation, they have not taken issues of their health and empowerment lying down. I think they're going to go down fighting."

Financial security is another issue on boomers' minds.

Norman, the Jewett City attorney, said boomers he knows are so busy and are worried about having enough money saved up for retirement, they probably can't think about what they'll do when they retire.

Years ago, if a person worked at a large company, he or she likely left with a pension plan, providing them with a steady monthly income.

UConn finance professor Shantaram Hegde said the percentage of corporations offering defined benefit plans --also known as pension plans -- has declined in the past five years. About 35 percent of corporations provide such plans, he said.

Hegde said with Social Security's uncertain future, fewer companies contributing to pension plans and expected lower rates of return on investments, boomers are "sandwiched pretty hard. They will live longer with less to live on."

His advice to boomers: "Save more or retire late or do both."

Jerry Fischer, 56, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Southeastern Connecticut, said he doesn't see himself retiring in the near future.

"I'll be 85 before I use the senior center, maybe 80," he said. "I plan to work until I'm 75 or 80 because I'm a very social guy."

Linda Fisher, director of national member research at AARP, said boomers' attitudes toward retirement vary greatly depending on their income levels.

But the thought of retiring or being a "senior" just doesn't mesh in boomers' minds.

"Boomers are not going to react well to the word 'senior,'" Fisher said. "We feel like it's off-putting. It kind of says 'old.'"

Instead, "wellness centers" have sprung up across the country, staying open in the evenings for busy boomers and offering more high-impact exercise classes.

State Rep. Steve Mikutel, D-Griswold, 56, a state legislator who has been active in Griswold town politics since 1977, ran a construction business in his early 20s and worked in human resources for private firms and the state.

He has also been a financial consultant for 25 years and probably will be one even if he doesn't remain a state representative.

"I'm not going to be someone who sits in a rocking chair and watches time go by," he said.