Aging boomers are ready for their Encore

For nearly 50 years, my dad worked for the same company, saved money when he could and kept his eyes on a prize — retirement by 65 with the opportunity to travel, play golf and spend time with my mom, the kids and grandkids. With an average life span not much over 70, the working men of his generation focused on spending their “golden years” relaxing after decades of hard work.

Today? Post-World-War-II baby boomers like me turn 65 at a dizzying rate of 10,000 per day. That rate will continue for the next 16 years or so, according to data from the Pew Research Center; and whether by choice or necessity many of us have no intention of retiring to the rocking chair, the golf course or the grandchildren’s playroom.

Blessed with better health, a longer life expectancy, the conviction that as “children of the ‘60s” we can do anything we set our minds to, and a commitment to work that serves the greater good, boomers could redefine aging with a new “life stage” that might aptly be called the “encore.”

This year, I have a fellowship from a national non-profit organization whose mission is to promote “second acts for the greater good.” In other words, that people in the baby boomer age group—and all of those who are lucky enough to reach it in the future — can make significant contributions toward solving pressing social problems at the local, state, national and international levels.

In my work as one of Encore.org’s 15 Encore Innovation Fellows this year, I’ve learned a lot of things, including:

• In the U.S. today, nine million people over 50 are working in Encore careers that give personal fulfillment, social impact and, in some but not all cases, income.
• At least 31 million more Americans would like to be engaged in social-impact work.
• In our state, as in others, there’s an abundance of need for the energy, experience, wisdom, and resources of people over 50. Imagine, for example, what a few thousand Encore Michiganians could do to improve the early childhood experience of our state’s children between birth and 8. Or consider that, according to the Michigan Nonprofit Association, the state’s nonprofit sector is growing, and the Encore group can support that growth. Or consider that in some of our private sector businesses, Encores have become important to knowledge transfer, training and development of junior staff.
• A critical challenge—and not the only one—to maximizing the potential of this first “Encore” generation is finding ways to link the supply of Encores with the need or demand for what they can offer.
• Another is dispelling the notion that if older people continue to work, it means taking jobs away from younger ones.

Creating the link between supply and need or demand depends on raising awareness of the tremendous potential of the Encore population, and also on receptiveness of for-profit, nonprofit and governmental organizations and employers to engaging older talent. Even with awareness and receptiveness, I believe the “match” is not going to occur without assertive action from those who make up the “supply” and the same from those who have the “need.”

How might that action occur? The possibilities are endless; for example:

In Michigan, I’ve learned, more than 4,000 state board and commission appointments are made on a rotating basis, about 1,000 a year. An Encore resident should take a look at that list on the state’s website and step up with a self-nomination.

Detroit has countless critical needs—just take one, the Lean Processing Project. The city could put its Talent Office to work finding Encore citizens with expertise in the areas the city needs to improve.

A private sector employer could actively encourage its employees from date of hire to get involved in meaningful volunteer community or social impact work that can grow over time so that when employees leave, they have an established “runway” to rewarding Encore contributions.

As to dispelling the notion that older people drain jobs from younger ones, some signs suggest quite the opposite, and would indicate that seniors are creating jobs. For example, the Kauffman Foundation studied entrepreneurial activity in the United States for more than a decade, from 1996 – 2007, and found that in every year, the 55-plus age group had a higher rate of entrepreneurial activity than the 20-34 age group. In another study, for the single year 2013, Kauffman found that a full 35 per cent of new businesses in the United States were created by entrepreneurs over 50.

The Encore potential is real, and so are the needs Encores can help to fill. What the baby boomers of my generation make of the opportunities and challenges can, as the Encore.org people say, help people to “live, not just leave, a legacy” for generations to come.

Beverly Hall Burns is a principal at law firm of Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone, PLC, in Detroit, who she practices management-side labor law. Moving into her own “Encore plan,” she is transitioning to more social impact work.