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Has economy busted out the boomers?

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Has the economy busted the baby boomer? Many wonder.

Highlights

By Jane Glenn Haas
McClatchy Newspapers (www.mctdirect.com)
10/14/2008 (1 decade ago)

Published in Marriage & Family

Orange County, CA (MCT) - I want to believe we can make a difference in the world.

I want to follow the dream of my friend, Marc Freedman, and be among the millions of baby boomers he sees retiring to encore careers _ to work that matters to them, like teaching school or helping elders age in place or reaching out to people who need a boost in life.

Through his non-profit, Civic Ventures, and his books, "Prime Time" and "Encore," Freedman has championed this future.

Boomers, he says, will have the time, the energy and the skills to give back, and our world will be better for it.

Ah, but Marc, will they have the money?

Or will this economic collapse turn retiring boomers into a scrambling, shoving, survive-at-all-costs generation?

Can you follow your dreams without coins clinking in your pocket?

"Not unless you are a nun or a priest," says my friend Peter. "I've got a pension. I've got Social Security, but that's it. I can't rely on my savings. I've got to keep working."

We're sitting in a budget restaurant, Peter and I, drinking ice tea and talking over the impact of tough times on dreams for tomorrow. This is a change for us. We used to sit in an upscale place sipping martinis.

One week of a declining Dow and it's lemon rind edging a tall glass of tea instead of olives stuffed with blue cheese soaking in Grey Goose vodka.

I admit I'm worried. I joke about moving in with my daughter and her family.

"I hope you're joking," says Peter.

He says with the Dow Jones falling with a thud, folks who were looking forward to retirement last week are praying to keep their jobs today.

"And they know their chances are dim," says Peter.

But he always sees the hole and not the doughnut.

I've been polling a few folks I know who are nearing 65. None of them planned to retire to a life of golf or fishing. Most were opting for encore careers. A couple of women expected to be involved with caregiving for school-age grandchildren.

I hear "it's not fair" and "why me?" I hear "I guess we're all in this together" and "they have stolen my dreams and I want to make them pay" _ whoever "they" are.

I don't hear anyone talking about volunteering to make the world a better place.

And I want to be wrong about that.

I want to believe the folks I've talked to are different from the rest of you.

I'm concerned about the bitterness, the selfishness, the near-hopelessness

I'm hearing.

Everyone seems to be waiting for "the other shoe to drop." The Great Depression is part of most of their family folklore. So it's here-we-go-again-life-was-too-good time.

Already, the Wall Street Journal reports one in three boomers are considering delaying retirement. These boomers say it will take three years or more to recover retirement savings already lost on the market.

Women are hardest hit, says McClatchy News Service. For single mothers and women with families the unemployment rate is 9.6 percent, the highest in 15 years.

The over-riding theme is: How Low Can It Go.

So show me the silver lining. Tell me there is a terrific rainbow in our future. Not necessarily wealth but at least a sense of community. If ever we needed to reach out a helping hand to someone else, certainly it's now.

No this is not an official survey. It will only count those of you who will take the time to e-mail me at jghaas@cox.net and tell me:

Yes, I have changed my retirement plans. I want to work longer. I am focused on dollars.

No, I still plan to retire to a rewarding second career _ maybe earning fewer dollars but at a job that makes a difference in someone's life.

I'll just be glad to have a job.

I'm still planning to kick back and enjoy life after 65.

Share your realistic vision for your retirement today. I won't publish your name, but I would like to know your age and the years you have been in the workforce.

___

(Jane Glenn Haas writes for The Orange County (Calif.) Register. E-mail her at jghaas@cox.net.)

___

© 2008, The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.).

Visit the Register on the World Wide Web at http://www.ocregister.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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