The United Way for Southeastern Michigan blog: The Boomers Are Coming; The Boomers Are Coming

My parents met during World War II when my father, who was in the Army, was stationed in Belgium. Whether it was the chocolate, the stockings, or his incredible good looks, Lore Richter fell head over heels for him and left her country and family in April of 1946 to travel to New York City, where they were wed, and then on to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they set up residence. In January of 1947 (it was 9 months and 2 days later for those of you who are counting) they were joined by a 6 lb. 14 oz. baby boy. It was that event that solidified my place in the first month of the second year of what was to be called some years later - the Baby Boom.

Being kind of a founding member of the “greatest generation” (sorry, I think Tom Brokaw already gave that moniker to an earlier cohort) and assuring you younger folks that the 60’s were GREAT, my interest is always piqued by articles that talk about us.

I came across some research the other day that combines the baby boomers with volunteerism – what I would consider the DAILY DOUBLE. The research explores the question:

As the first wave of the 76 million-strong baby-boom generation begins turning 62 and receiving Social Security benefits January 1, will they create a massive army of willing and able volunteers?

While I hope you will take time to peruse some of the studies, allow me to give you a few of the findings:

The vast majority of adults who volunteer while working also do so after retirement. What’s more, a significant share of older adults who don’t formally volunteer give it a try after retiring. (I will have to part of the first sentence because I don’t see retirement as a possibility for years to come.)
Volunteers who put in many hours over many years and who are married to volunteers tend to volunteer the longest. Non-volunteers take the leap more often if they have been uninvolved for relatively few years and their spouses volunteer. “These results point to the need to focus efforts on retaining older volunteers to maximize volunteer engagement during later years,” the researchers conclude.
Despite older adults’ relatively high rates of engagement -- defined as paid work or formal volunteering -- researchers see enormous potential for recruiting more older adults into the workforce or nonprofit volunteer forces.

The upside of longer work lives, the researchers point out, includes increased retirement incomes, greater tax revenues, and reduced net Social Security payouts. The payback from increased volunteerism includes enhanced health status, potential reductions in the cost of government health programs, and benefits to those receiving services.

While that soldier passed away in 1979, his Belgian wife, now 87 years old, taught elementary school French until well into her 60s. She still lives in Cincinnati and runs circles around me as she volunteers 2 days a week, attends exercise and water aerobics classes, participates in book clubs and a number of cultural activities, and cheats at crossword puzzles. What could be better than that?

If you are interested in the research, here are the links to each of the reports.