In this January 2011 segment from the PBS NewsHour, Judy Woodruff looks at the implications of  Baby Boomers retiring with Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute and Ted Fishman, author of “Shock of Gray.”

That society is not prepared for Boomers getting old is no great surprise.  Along with discussing the statistics of an increasingly grey population and the impacts on unfunded liabilities like Medicare and Social Security, this discussion puts forth some interesting insights and  helpful suggestions.

OBSERVATIONS ABOUT BOOMERS AGING:

• Baby Boomers will be taking care of older Baby Boomers.
• The government needs individuals to stay solvent longer. That means working longer.  Individuals and businesses should be incentivized to encourage individuals working longer.
• If everyone works a little bit longer, it will help a lot.
• We should encourage innovation in health sciences.
• At lot of people are working on solutions to the pending crisis.

BOOMERS WORKING:

• Boomers are preparing to work longer.
• Because so many jobs are in the service industry, it is possible to work longer while toiling less physically.
• American businesses are looking for younger workplaces around world.
• The Boomers’ aging has a global impact on business and economies.
• They should invest in themselves by increasing marketable skills and intellectual capital that will enable them to work.
• One of the dangers for the future is people are being pushed out of employment before official retirement age.

BOOMER HABITS:

• We need to tune up fundamental habits.
• Savings are uneven.  Some save a lot.  Some do not save at all.
• We need to take more personal responsibility for own health.
• Preventive healthcare should be encouraged.