BABY BOOMERS' RETIREMENT PLANS: Online Survey November 8, 2001 Japan's baby boomers (people born just after World War II) are now standing at a crossroads as they approach retirement in an aging society. What do they think is the ideal way to spend their retirement years? To find out, Trends in Japan conducted an opinion poll by e-mail. Over 70% of those polled want to continue working after the age of 60, either for the income or to give themselves a purpose in life. The poll also revealed that after retirement, nearly 80% want to live with their spouses, with hobbies and travel the principal activities they want to engage in. There is an extremely high level of interest in IT, with an overwhelming majority (over 90%) using e-mail and considering the Internet a necessity. 74% Want to Work After the Age of 60 A questionnaire was sent by e-mail in September to 50 men and 50 women born during the period 1946-50. Eighty-three percent of the respondents live with their spouses and 82% with their children. Only 15% live with either their own or their spouse's parents, and only 5% live alone. In response to a multiple-answer question about who they would like to live with after retirement, an overwhelming 79% gave their spouse as the preferred living partner, while 36% want to live with their children and their children's families. Only 10% want to live alone. The 92 respondents who have not yet retired were asked if they want to continue working after the age of 60. Of these, 74% replied "Yes" and 26% "No." "To have an income" and "to give myself a purpose in life" were given as the reason for wanting to go on working by 37% each. After that, 12% gave as their reason "I don't want to become senile" and 9% gave "I want to start a second life," while 3% said they wanted "to be of use to society." [See graph 1] Among those who did not want to carry on working, the top answer was "to give priority to what I myself want to do" (58%), next came "I've worked enough and I'm tired" (25%), then "I don't need the income" (8%). "I want to spend time with my family" and "I'm concerned about my health" came in at 4% each [See graph 2]. Asked the multiple-answer question "What activities do you want to pursue after retirement?" the top five replies were: "hobbies" (76%); "travel" (42%); "spend more time with my spouse/family" (39%); "spend time with friends having the same hobbies or make such friends" (38%); and "work on a computer" (27%). Following these came "sports" (25%); "live quietly at home" and "take up volunteer activities" (19% each); "live abroad" (15%); "study at university or in postgraduate school" (15%); and "housework" (6%). The complementary question "What are your worries or concerns about retirement?" put to the 92 respondents still working elicited "my own and my family's health" (45%), followed by "money" (31%), "how to use my time" (8%), "loneliness" (7%), and "my death or that of members of my family" (4%). To get an idea of the relationship that baby boomers have with IT, the survey also looked into their use of e-mail. Sixty-four percent of the respondents said they use it "every day without fail," while 18% said "at least once a week" and 12% "now and again." Only 6% do not use e-mail at all [See graph 3]. An overwhelming 96% believe the Internet to be a "necessity," the reasons given being "you can get a lot of information from it" (38%), "it's convenient" (34%), "you can contact people easily by e-mail" (17%), "you're not isolated" (6%), and "it's fun and useful" (1%). Husbands Want to Live with Wives, Wives with Children Of the male respondents, 92% are living with spouses, while 74% of the female respondents are living with their spouses. This may be a reflection of differences in the life expectancies of men and women or of the proportions of unmarried individuals. There is also a significant difference in the persons with whom the respondents want to live after retirement. Multiple answers were allowed for this item. Of the men, 90% gave "my spouse" as their response, while the corresponding figure for the women was 68%, and some 52% of women answered "my children and their families." Again, while 52% of male respondents said they wanted to "spend more time with my family," only 26% of women did. It may be that there are quite a few wives who want to be liberated from their husbands after retiring.   Your Name What did you think of this article? It was interesting. It was boring. Send this article to a friend Other questions put by the survey did not show up significant differences between men and women. In connection with IT, particularly, the great majority of both male and female respondents see the Internet as necessary and make use of it frequently. Readiness to Adjust to IT During the three years from 1947 to 1949, 46% more babies were born than in the preceding three years, and 15% more than in the following three years. These people entered employment at about the end of the period of high economic growth. They had a new sense of values and, because of their large numbers, they had the power to create new demands and fashions in today's consumption-oriented society. This year's white paper on the "Aging of Society," published by the Cabinet Office, also points out the high degree of readiness of baby boomers to come to terms with IT. These then are some of the characteristics of the baby boomer generation. The results of the present survey confirm many of the findings of previous polls of this group, and it is likely that they will provide a basis for predicting one aspect of future developments in Japan's society. Copyright (c) 2001 Japan Information Network. Edited by Japan Echo Inc. based on domestic Japanese news sources. Articles presented here are offered for reference purposes and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.