Some Baby Boomers Are Starting Second Careers

Posted on October 28, 2005

MassLive.com has an article about baby boomers that are looking at second careers. Some boomers are also accepting the possibility that they may need additional income and won't ever completely retire.

Americans' dreams of early retirement, interrupted by the 2000 stock market bust and the 2001 recession, live on. They have been revived in part by the economy's rebound, soaring home values and the ambitions of baby boomers -- although often accompanied nowadays by the realization they'll still need additional income.
A Merrill Lynch survey last year found that 77 percent of more than 3,400 baby boomers polled planned to work in some capacity in their retirement, with second careers in the mix for some, including 13 percent who intended to start their own businesses.

Baby boomers will need additional income because they should be living longer on average and there could be a housing bubble that might reduce some of the accumulated wealth from home ownership. The article lists several baby boomers who have found unique second careers like fashion designer or stand-up comic. Author Steve Vernon says it isn't money that keeps people from changing careers.

Money worries aside, starting a new career is within reach for most people, said Steve Vernon, author of the retirement book "Live Long and Prosper."
"The barriers are more psychological than financial," said Vernon, a consultant of Watson Wyatt Worldwide. "People get used to a certain level of (guaranteed) income. Also, a lot of people can't seem to find the motivation to make a change."