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9th CACPUQ Symposium

“The End of a Generation: Baby

Boomers Retirement”

Prof. Anthony C. Masi, Provost

McGill University14 June 2012

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Bienvenue/Welcome

• Bonjour et bienvenue a tous!

• Welcome to members of Conférence des associations de cadres e de professionnel des universités québécoises (CACPUQ)

• Congratulations to MUNASA for 40 years of service to their members, McGill University’s non-unionised non-academic administrative and support staff

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• Baby boomers

• Social, economic, and political context

• Institutional challenges, advantages, responses

• Individual challenges and responses

• Questions to consider

Overview

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Baby boomers among other “defined” generations

• born between 1946-1964 – “late boomers” born after 1955

• before the boomers there are the– “Traditionalists” (1927-1945)

• following the boomers are the – “Gen-Xers” (1965-1980)– “Millennials” (1980-2000), an echo to the boomers

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Baby boomers according to Statistics Canada

• 8 million individuals born in Canada between 1946-1964• Canada’s baby boom segment is proportionately the largest

of among OECD countries • baby boom was followed by decline in fertility rates

(sometimes referred to as the “boom, bust, echo”)• 25% of Canada’s population will be 65 or older by 2031• slowdown in rate of growth in labour force

– fewer people in successive generations – tending to take retirement at later ages

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Baby boomers: the “bring it on” youth culture

• “fear and denial”• new social trends and commercial segments• intergenerational wealth/income transfers• evolving government social policies and welfare provisions • changes in the retirement income system (moving toward

self-provisioning) • from successful and self-satisfied to disappointed (“wasn’t

meant to turn out this way”)• from a dream to nightmare of anxiety?

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Baby boomers:large numbers of coming retirements

• first members of the post baby boom generation turned 65 in 2011

• implications for– consumer spending– younger workers as baby boomers stay in the workforce– straining the government's already ugly budget picture as

the elderly seek more from the welfare state

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Labour force realities

• between 1990 and 2010, the workforce:

– of those above 65 has doubled, increasing from around 1 in 5 to approximately 1 in 3 in the age group

– of those 70-74, 1 in 5 are still working, compared to only 1 in 10 earlier

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Retirement realities

• unprecedented numbers of Canadians in the homestretch toward retirement

• the first “baby boomers” turned 60 last year

• youngest boomers are in their mid to late 40s

• thinking about retirement and accumulated wealth– Have I/we saved enough? – How much is enough? – How do we/I set a budget for the our/my years as a pensioner?

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The boomers’ views on retirement

• many see its meaning as:– old age: frailty, decay – negative stereotypes: redundancy, inactivity • others will try to fend off old age by – delaying retirement and work past normal retirement age (NRA)

• they vary among: – homebodies, snow-birds, globetrotters – part-timers

• not all will – meet the expectations of their children (to help look after the grandchildren)

• some:• remained DINKs their whole lives (dual incomes no kids)

• a few will: – SKI (“spend kids’ inheritance”, not always by choice)

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Issues worrying boomers

• a loss of status in leaving the labour market – ageism and exhaustion

• financial security and their standard of living – freedom and relaxation

• raising the pension-eligible age – being compelled to work beyond the “social contract”

• declining health status– ability of our social safety net to provide appropriately

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Other boomer concerns

• for those who do stay in the labour force beyond the NRA: – same job or a career change? – stay due to needing the income (have to) or because of intrinsic work

satisfaction (want to)?– because of a shift in pension regimes or due to a desire to maintain a

certain quality of life?

• a disadvantaged generation? – self-sufficient, self-reliant, but …

• the “social contract”?– entitlement, comfort – kinder and gentler country/province

• How do men and women differ along these dimensions?

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Shift in attitudes by or affecting baby boomers

• another social revolution?• moral rationale for state old age security pensions

– entitlement of citizenship– prevent people from slipping below an acceptable minimum – falling support for public provision of pension– inability of private provisioning to provide under current market conditions

• some boomers will postpone retirement plans, or giving up on them completely in mushrooming numbers, because of fears they will outlive their saved money

• baby boomers (paradoxically) – probably have accumulated more wealth than any previous generation– may be members of the first generation since the 1930s who will be worse off in their

older years than their parents

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Unique challenges

• workers will increasingly be expected to assume more financial responsibility for their own retirement

• questions about the viability of old age pensions and universal free health care

• politicians and constituents are uncomfortable

• Will it affect late bloomers more than the older cohort?

• What about the effects on prior and subsequent generations and the children of the boomers themselves?

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Today’s multi-generational workforce

• 4 generations work side-by-side– first time in history

• workforce at academic institutions contains a number of older workers– 25% are age 55 or older– university leaders are also aging

• over age 60: 1986 = 14%; 2006 = 50% • average corporate CEO (2006) = 55

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Retirement planning

• inflation, low market returns, and longer life expectancies all have effects on one’s “nest egg”

• dramatic expansion in the length of time that retirees depend upon pensions and savings

• inflation deteriorates the value of the savings upon which retirement depends

• low market returns will slow the accumulation of funds, forcing delaying an exit from the labour market

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Markets and pensions

• defined benefit (DB)

• defined contribution (DC)

• hybrid plan (DC with a DBM or defined benefit minimum)

• pensions, retirement, and other investment portfolios took a major hit during the 2008 economic crisis

• universities were not immune to these problems and have to make adjustments to pension regimes

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“Baby boomer” retirements:institutional challenges

• failure to turn attention to leadership development and succession planning

• potential mismatch of program offerings with emerging interests

• issues of a loss in “institutional memory and wisdom”

• lack of available mentors for younger colleagues

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“Baby boomer” retirements:institutional opportunities

• change-over in skill sets

• reduction in size of the workforce

• shift among areas

• decreased overall expenses

• reduced pressures on the bottom line

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“Baby boomer” retirements:institutional responses

• “Developing a comprehensive set of programs that promote workplace continuity and establish accessible retirement pathways for faculty and staff will become increasingly critical as the work force continues to age.”

-- University of Iowa Center on Aging, 2010

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“Baby boomer” retirements:individual challenges

• retiring from a career represents a major life adjustment

• economic considerations have become paramount since the 2008 downturn

• most universities have scaled back on pension benefits

• need of retiring workers for opportunities to exercise skills, intellect, and social commitments

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“Baby boomer” retirements: individual opportunities and responses• improve career development strategies through professional HR

programs

• plan for succession and ensure smooth transitions

• work with colleagues to share best practices

• develop new opportunities for recognition and rewards

• explore opportunities for simplified processes and reduced “red tape”

• participate in strategic planning exercises

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Questions to Consider

• What is the impact of the aging of the baby-boom generation on me personally and professionally? What can I do about these effects on my life, at home, at work, in society?

• How is the transition of these large baby-boom cohorts affecting my university and the whole system of universities in Quebec?

• Is my institution managing these individuals and their impact on our workforce composition and planning in order to ensure smooth successions as they move to retirement? If not, what can be done to make this happen?

• Can you think of things that are not being done now that could help facilitate the transition of baby-boomers into retirement? How do you make them happen?

• What lessons can I draw from today’s talks that can be applied directly in my workplace, at my university, or in my life?

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Merci.

Thank you.

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