Retirement is a concept that is well-appreciated by the population spanning all the generations. Whether you are a young professional or an elderly baby boomer, retirement is bound to elicit a favorable response from you. After all, the goals of an aging baby boomer are to lounge around their home, to take long walks in the beach, to do no work and to travel around the world with their partners.
At least, that’s what retirement used to mean.
What factors changed the goals of retirement?
Now, the entirety of retirement is meant to be viewed differently.
* People nowadays choose to go back to school and start to study graduate courses thereby giving them more expertise yet less experience – since they start working at a later time.
* Also, people are smarter now: they make mini-retirement plans when they were still younger and stronger. This means that younger people chose to travel a lot because they know that when they get older, they won’t be able to enjoy traveling due to brittle bones and weak joints.
* In addition, aging baby boomers choose to be more active in personal development and societal enhancement so they want to be more active in nonprofit organizations and charities.
What are the real goals of retirement now?
Aging baby boomers now choose to retire simply because they want to live well within the comforts of their home, live comfortably with their loved ones and live actively within the community.
If these are the goals of an aging baby boomer in retiring, why, then, do they choose to retire at home?
1. Freedom of choice: All aging baby boomers have one desire in common: freedom. Because they feel that once they get older and the power of decision-making will be taken away from them, aging baby boomers are scared of feeling helpless and vulnerable. They want to still be able to dictate who they will live with and what activities they will perform. Aging at home gives senior baby boomers this power.
2. Security and safety: Every human being has a need for being secure and safe – aging baby boomers are not exempted from this need. Now, because of the advances in technology that can offer home modifications for installation of alarms and locks, aging baby boomers can meet this need. Also, a lot of home modification packages include a falls prevention system especially produced for aging baby boomers.
3. Customized health care: Because of the increase in the population of baby boomers advancing retirement, health institutions have become adapted to the needs that this trend has brought. Regular home visits are now conducted to aging baby boomers. This is a medical service that ensures customization of health care since more time and more privacy are allotted for the baby boomer to voice out his health needs.
4. Community engagement: Aging baby boomers will prefer to reside in a residential subdivision with fellow baby boomers. They can then build a harmonious community who aims to volunteer services for charity, give monetary aid to causes they support and act as positive role models and mentors for the future generations.
5. Increasing technological support: A lot of aging baby boomers are thankful for technology for allowing them to enjoy their retirement at home. Because of technology, aging baby boomers can prevent slips and falls; communicate with their loved ones through the computer; take their medicine on time; clean their house without straining their back; and generally live a more convenient life.
Naturally, now that these factors have come into play, an aging baby boomer should do well and make advanced planning while keeping these factors in mind. Retiring and aging at home is a worthwhile experience that baby boomers deserve to experience.
