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Baby boom generation just refuses to quit

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The article “Baby boom generation just refuses to quit,” by Sarah Murray, talks about the determination and longevity of the baby boomer generation. It appears as though the baby boomers have no intentions of slowing down any time soon. Murray discusses the benefits of having employees of the “Baby Boom” generation, the benefits that those employees can take advantage of and why it is important we keep an eye on them. Whether it is on account of insufficient savings or simply the desire to continue to work, the baby boomers are making it seem like they are in the workplace to stay, for now.

Baby boom generation just refuses to quit

Sarah Murray

In 1889, when Otto von Bismarck, the German chancellor, introduced the first state pension scheme for those over 70, average life expectancy was 45.

Since then, increasing longevity and improved health have led people to extend their working lives and are calling compulsory retirement ages into doubt. As seismic demographic shifts transform the global workforce, companies are asking themselves whether and how they should keep this array of seasoned talent in employment.

“Healthy adult life, which we used to think of as coming to an end some time in our 60s, we’re now seeing extending well into our 70s,” says Sarah Harper, director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing at Oxford university.

Increased life expectancy is not the only reason people are abandoning retirement in favour of a second career.

For some, financial pressures drive the need to work longer. The ability of governments to fund state pensions is diminishing, and some have raised pension ages. Many baby boomers have not saved sufficiently for retirement and, in addition, investment returns have fallen. This has created a financial imperative to work longer.

Read the rest of Murray’s article here