Finding Fulfillment with a Second Act
The trend of retirees embarking on entirely new careers later in life is exploding. While trying new things after retirement is not new, baby boomers are doing it in record numbers as they enter their 50s, 60s, and beyond. Starting over can bring major benefits, both financial and emotional. If you’re a recent retiree considering a fresh start, here’s what you need to know about this growing phenomenon.
Read more: The Retirement Myth: Why Boomers Don’t Stop After 60Key Takeaways
- The traditional career path of lifetime employment is disappearing, leading many boomers to start their own businesses or change fields entirely in retirement.
- Entrepreneurial spirit, restlessness, and unfulfilled dreams motivate baby boomers to take risks on new ventures later in life.
- Financial necessity also drives late-career changes due to shrinking retirement accounts and pensions.
- Major benefits of starting over after retirement are financial stability, personal fulfillment, and setting an inspirational example.
The New Normal: Serial Careers
Gone are the days when workers remained with a single employer for 40 years before retiring. The average baby boomer holds 12 different jobs before the age of 50. In addition to shifting regularly between companies, many boomers have weathered layoffs, mergers, and business closures that force abrupt career changes.
With traditional pension plans disappearing, building up adequate retirement savings across disjointed careers is extremely difficult. So financial necessity alone motivates many retirees to generate income from new ventures.
The Boomer Difference: Restless and Unstoppable
But baby boomers aren’t solely driven by economic pressures. This generation has always believed the rules don’t apply to them, and they carry that attitude into their later years. Unlike previous generations, boomers feel free to follow unlikely ambitions and make major life changes well into their 50s, 60s, and beyond.
Percentage of Adults Making Major Career Changes After Age 50: 27%
Source: AARP
Boomers came of age in a time of rapid social change and questioning of norms. They have an appetite for risk, adventure, and self-invention that persists even as other generations settle into comfortable ruts.
Many boomers also have dreams deferred. While they built careers and supported families early on, they still have unfulfilled passions. Reaching retirement can finally free them up to pursue that startup idea or make a difference through nonprofit work. Their life experience gives them confidence that they can succeed in entirely new fields.
The Payoff: Satisfaction and Inspiration
Those who take the leap into new ventures after retirement reap major rewards beyond just a paycheck. Pursuing work they truly care about allows boomers to feel engaged and fulfilled even as peers withdraw into leisure. The sense of purpose and ability to apply decades of knowledge fuels satisfaction.
And pioneering new careers and businesses in their later years sets an inspirational example. Boomers break stereotypes about “acting your age” and show that it’s never too late to take risks, follow dreams, and strive for engagement. Their second acts motivate younger generations to stay bold and embrace change throughout life.
The baby boomer path of serial careers and late-stage reinventions may become the new normal. Rather than a straightforward progression of school, work, and retirement, we may all live lives filled with adventures, risks, and fresh starts. Boomers are leading the way in seeking fulfillment at any age.
Feature photo by Andrea Piacquadio.
