Boomers at Midlife - AARP items on those used in the John D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation’s ... contributions of Dr. Margie Lachman, ... Boomers at Midlife:

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Boomers at Midlife:The AARP Life Stage StudyV O L U M E I F U L L R E P O R T

Boomers at Midlife:The AARP Life Stage StudyVolume I Full ReportA National Survey Conducted for AARP by Princeton Survey Research AssociatesNovember 2002

Carol Keegan, Ph.D., Project Manager, Knowledge Management, AARP

202-434-6286

Sonya Gross, Research Analyst, Knowledge Management, AARP

202-434-3556

Linda Fisher, Ph.D., Research Director, Knowledge Management, AARP

202-434-6304

Shereen Remez, Ph.D., Director of Knowledge Management, AARP

202-434-2426

AcknowledgementsIn designing the basic approach to this study, the study authors modeled key sur-

vey items on those used in the John D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation’s

Midlife in the U.S. (MIDUS) surveys. We also wish to acknowledge the consulting

contributions of Dr. Margie Lachman, a MIDUS research fellow and Professor of

Psychology at Brandeis University. She also serves as Director of the University’s

Lifespan Developmental Psychology Laboratory.

©2002 AARP. All rights reserved. Reprinting with permission only.

601 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20049

www.aarp.org

Table of ContentsVOLUME I Full Report

I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

II. Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

III. Detailed Findings

A. Assessment of Current Life Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Demographic Differences in Assessment of Current Life Status Among Boomers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

B. Near-Term Life Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Demographic Differences in Near-Term Life Goals Among Boomers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

C. Anticipated Problems/Barriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Demographic Differences in Anticipated Problems/Barriers Among Boomers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

D. Planning the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Demographic Differences in Planning the Future Among Boomers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

E. Ethnic and Racial Comparisons Among Boomers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Assessment of Life Status Among White, African American and Hispanic Boomers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Near-Term Life Goals for White, African American and Hispanic Boomers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Anticipated Problems/Barriers for White, African American and Hispanic Boomers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Planning the Future for White, African American and Hispanic Boomers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Appendix A: Methodological Report for National Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

Appendix B: Annotated Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101

Appendix C: Table of Critical Life Events by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

Appendix D: Methodological Report for Focus Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143

Appendix E: Focus Group Moderator’s Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151

1

List of TablesTable 1: Boomers’ Satisfaction with Major Life Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Table 2: Satisfaction with Major Life Areas by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Table 3: Most Important Life Area by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Table 4: Boomers’ Expectations of Major Life Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Table 5: Boomers’ Expectations of Major Life Areas by Marital Status . . . . . . . . . .22

Table 6: Expectations of Major Life Areas by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Table 7: Life’s Highs and Lows by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Table 8: Boomers’ Satisfaction with Major Life Areas by Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Table 9: Boomers’ Satisfaction with Major Life Areas by Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Table 10: Life’s Highs and Lows for Boomers by Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Table 11: Boomers’ Overall Life Satisfaction by Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Table 12: Boomers’ Satisfaction with Major Life Areas by Income . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Table 13: Life’s Highs and Lows for Boomers by Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Table 14: Boomers’ Satisfaction with Major Life Areas by Education . . . . . . . . . . .34

Table 15: General Hopes for the Future by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Table 16: Boomers’ Current Status and Hopes for Life Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Table 17: Major Life Area Boomers Would Most Like to Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Table 18: Boomers’ and Older Americans’ Current Status and Hopes for Life Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Table 19: Boomers’ and Younger Americans’ Current Status and Hopes for Life Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Table 20: Major Ambition by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Table 21: Boomers’ General Hopes for the Future by Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Table 22: Boomers’ Hopes for Life Areas by Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Table 23: Boomers’ Major Ambition by Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Table 24: Boomers’ Major Ambition by Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Table 25: Boomers’ Current Status and Financial Hopes by Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Table 26: Boomers’ Likelihood of Reaching Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Table 27: Likelihood of Reaching Goals by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Table 28: Boomers’ Control Over Major Life Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Table 29: Life Status by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Table 30: Boomers’ Control Over Work or Career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

Boomers at Midlife: The AARP Life Stage Study - Volume I Full Report

2 Prepared for AARP by Princeton Survey Research Associates

Table 31: Control Over Major Life Areas by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Table 32: Major Barriers by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Table 33: Control Over Finances and Religious/Spiritual Life by Age . . . . . . . . . .58

Table 34: Boomers’ Likelihood of Reaching Relationship Goals by Gender and Control Over Finances and Work by Gender . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Table 35: Boomers’ Control Over Religious/Spiritual Life and Health by Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Table 36: Thinking About the General Future by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

Table 37: Thinking About Life Areas by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Table 38: Planning for the Future by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

Table 39: Attitudes About the Future and Control Over the Future by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

Table 40: Describing the Next Five Years by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

Table 41: Thinking About the General Future by Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

Table 42: Thinking About Life Areas by Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

Table 43: Attitudes About the Future and Control Over the Future by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Table 44: Boomers’ Thinking About Life Areas by Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

Table 45: Boomers’ Thinking About Life Areas by Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71

Table 46: Boomers’ Overall Life Satisfaction by Race/Ethnicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Table 47: Boomers’ Satisfaction with Major Life Areas by Race/Ethnicity . . . . . . .74

Table 48: Boomers’ Most Important Life Area by Race/Ethnicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

Table 49: Boomers’ Expectations of Major Life Areas by Race/Ethnicity . . . . . . .77

Table 50: Boomers’ Current Status and Hopes for Future by Race/Ethnicity . . . .79

Table 51: Boomers’ Likelihood of Reaching Goals by Race/Ethnicity . . . . . . . . . .80

Table 52: Major Barriers for Boomers by Race/Ethnicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

Table 53: Boomers’ Thoughts about Life Areas by Race/Ethnicity . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

Table 54: Boomers’ Attitudes toward the Future and Control Over the Future by Race/Ethnicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

Figure 1: Current Status and Hopes for Future by Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

3



I. INTRODUCTIONAs boomers age into eligibility for

AARP membership, the Association is

increasingly involved in enhancing its

understanding of the needs, interests and

concerns of this generation. Accordingly,

AARP commissioned Princeton Survey

Research Associates (PSRA) to conduct

the first wave of a major tracking survey

of boomers. This survey was designed to

give boomers a platform for reporting

how they are faring in various aspects of

their lives. It addresses the following

research questions:

1. Assessments of Current Life Status:Overall, how satisfied are boomerswith their lives? How do they assesstheir lives in seven major areas: relationships with family and friends;mental health; religious or spirituallife; work or career; physical health;personal finances and leisure activi-ties? In which areas of their lives dothey report that they are doing betterthan they expected, worse than theyexpected, and about as well as theyexpected? What do they believe arethe best and worst aspects of theirlives today? What major life eventshave they experienced?

2. Near-Term Life Goals: Where doboomers want their lives to lead overthe next five years? In what aspectsof their lives do they want to see themost change? What do they describeas their major ambitions at this timein their life? In what aspects of theirlives do boomers report the widest

gaps between where they currentlysee themselves and where theywould like to be?

3. Anticipated Problems/Barriers: Whatdo boomers believe is the likelihoodof bringing their hopes for variouslife areas to fruition? What constraintsor uncertainties do they believe aremost likely to keep them from reaching their goals? In which areas dothey anticipate the greatest declinesand improvements as they age?

4. Outlook on Planning for the Future:How do boomers feel about planningtheir futures in various life areas? Aresome boomers planning more thanothers? What aspects of their near-term goals do boomers believe theywill be able to influence or shape totheir advantage? In which areas doboomers feel they have the mostcontrol and the least control?

5. Comparisons of Boomers to Youngerand Older Generations: To whatextent, and in what ways, are thenear-term life circumstances, goals,and concerns of boomers similar toor different from those of other agecohorts? Compared to other agegroups, are boomers more or lessoptimistic about their near-termfuture? Do they anticipate similar or different barriers to reaching their goals?

6. Comparisons by Race/Ethnicity:Within the boomer generation, towhat extent do life circumstances,levels of satisfaction and near-termpriorities vary by race or ethnic

Introduction

5

group? Are African American andHispanic boomers more or less optimistic about their near-termfutures? Do they report similar ordifferent constraints and uncertaintiesin their ability to achieve near-termdreams and ambitions?

In addition to the national survey, PSRA

conducted focus groups of boomers

and older Americans in three cities—

Baltimore, Maryland; Charlotte, North

Carolina; and Kansas City, Missouri—

to listen to boomers talk about their

hopes and expectations. In each city,

four focus groups were conducted: two

consisting of boomers only, and two

with adults age 57 and older.

Following this introduction is an execu-

tive summary of the survey’s key findings

and then a more detailed report.

The detailed report is organized into

five main sections. The first four

sections are: ‘An Assessment of Current

Life Status,’ ‘Near-Term Life Goals,’

‘Anticipated Problems and Barriers,’

and ‘Planning the Future.’ In each of

these sections we first describe the

nationwide survey findings for

boomers. We then compare them to

older and younger adults. Each section

ends with an even closer look at

boomers, comparing them across

several demographic traits: age, gender,

income, and education.

When discussions from the focus

groups correspond with questions from

the nationwide survey, we incorporate

the comments of various participants

in with the description of results. These

comments serve to highlight the

quantitative findings, speculate on the

reasoning behind some of the findings,

and introduce alternative ways of

thinking about the topic in question.

The final section is ‘Ethnic and Racial

Comparisons among Boomers.’ To

achieve a complete picture of boomers

at midlife, oversamples of African

American and Hispanic boomers were

collected. In this last section we

compare the survey results for white,

African American, and Hispanic

boomers.

Finally, Appendix A is a detailed

methodology of the nationwide survey,

Appendix B is the annotated question-

naire, Appendix C is a table of critical

life events by generation, Appendix D

is a detailed description of the focus

group methodology, and Appendix E

is the focus group moderator’s guide.

To supplement the abbreviated tables

incorporated in Volume I, Volume II

provides a full set of tables for all

questions fielded in the national

survey analyzed by generation and by

eight additional variables (gender,

race/ethnicity, education, household

income, marital status, presence of

children in household, health status,

and expectations for the future).



II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARYBaby boomers, those Americans born

between 1946 and 1964, are members

of one of the largest generations in

American history. But more than size

sets them apart. This is the generation

that experienced Vietnam and Watergate,

the civil rights movement and the

women’s movement, assassinations and

moon landings in its formative years. It

is a generation that redefined music,

religion, leisure, and many American

norms and values, leaving an indelible

mark on American society. Now, with

boomers squarely in midlife, we ask

how they assess their lives today, and

what their hopes and expectations are

for the future.

AARP commissioned Princeton Survey

Research Associates to address these

questions in a major survey of boomers

at midlife. This unique survey asks

boomers to talk specifically about

themselves, examining seven broad life

areas in detail: relationships with family

and friends, personal finances, religious

or spiritual life, work or career, physical

health, mental health, and leisure activ-

ities. We asked boomers to tell us how

well they are doing in each of these

areas; where they hope to be five years

from now; how likely they are to achieve

their goals; and what the barriers are to

achieving these goals. Our task was to

listen to what boomers had to say

about their lives, their hopes, and their

expectations. This survey is the first

step, as we wanted to learn about as

wide a range of life areas as possible in

a 25-minute telephone survey. Probing

for the reasons behind the answers will

be the focus of future AARP research.

Here is what we found.

Key Findings

Boomers report broad satisfaction in

many areas of their lives. They are gen-

erally optimistic about what lies ahead.

As they plan for the future, boomers

hope for and expect many things to

improve in their lives:

• Chronologically, boomers are clearlyat midlife, but psychologically theybear a closer resemblance toyounger Americans than they do toolder Americans. Boomers are morelike younger adults when we compare the three age groups onhow often they think about thefuture (boomers 64%, younger 78%,older 41%) and optimism about thefuture (boomers 77%, younger 92%,older 41%).

• Boomers hope to see the greatestimprovements in the two life areasin which they are most likely to saythey feel behind. Leisure activitiesand finances are the two life areaswith which boomers are least likelyto be very satisfied (29% and 20%respectively) and most likely to saythey feel they are doing worse thanexpected (35% and 31% respective-ly). Nonetheless, they hope to seemajor improvements in five years: in

Executive Summary

7

leisure activities from 5.6 to 7.6 (on a10-point scale), and in finances from6.2 to 8.0.

• Boomers are pursuing such goals inspite of some shaky confidenceabout actually achieving them. Infact, they are least confident aboutachieving their goals in the sametwo areas where they aspire to thegreatest gains: leisure and personalfinance. Asked to describe theiroverall outlook on the next fiveyears, boomers are most likely to useupbeat words like “hopeful” (64%),“confident” (55%), “fulfilling” (49%)and “exciting” (46%).

Relationships with Family andFriends and Mental Health

On the plus side, nearly two thirds of

boomers (63%) are largely satisfied with

their relationships with family and

friends. This is good news, as a plurality

of boomers (44%) say these relation-

ships are the most important things in

their life. This emphasis on family and

friends may be, in part, because one in

two boomers are raising children. As we

heard in the focus groups, children are

the “most important thing” in many

boomers’ lives. At the same time, family

obligations may lead many boomers to

neglect other areas, such as leisure

activities and physical health, for exam-

ple, by not making time for exercise.

A solid majority of boomers (61%) are

also very satisfied with the state of their

mental health. In broad brushstrokes,

boomers are either where they expected

to be in this life area (62%) or doing

better than they expected (23%). And

while many hope to make gains in

mental health over the next five years,

the hoped-for gains are small, given

their already high level of satisfaction.

Personal Finances and Work or Career

On the negative side, substantially fewer

boomers say they are very satisfied with

their personal finances (20%) and their

work or career (39%). Many say their

personal financial status (20%) is the

worst thing in their lives. They say they

are worse off both in finances (31%)

and work or career (26%) than they

thought they would be at this point in

their lives. And many of these boomers

feel financially strapped, especially

when it comes time to pay college

tuition. Personal finances (29%) is the

area many boomers would most like to

improve, making it their top goal over

the next five years.

Physical Health and LeisureActivities

Many boomers say their physical health

(33%) and leisure activities (35%) have

suffered more than they expected.

Physical health is ranked among the

top three most important life areas by

one in five boomers, and is one area

that many boomers would like to

improve. Many focus group participants

noted that physical health deserves



such a high rating because without

good health all other life areas are com-

promised. “If you don’t have your

health, then you can’t work or you can’t

do anything,” one focus group partici-

pant remarked.

Only one in three boomers are very sat-

isfied with the state of their leisure

activities, and many would like to make

gains in the near-term. But, unlike

physical health, boomers do not rate

this life area as very important. Indeed,

boomers place leisure activities at the

bottom of the list of important life

areas. This suggests that boomers will

concentrate on making improvements

in more important areas before they

tackle their dissatisfaction with this

life area.

Religious or Spiritual Life

Boomers are moderately satisfied

with their religious or spiritual life.

Most say they are doing better than

they expected (26%), or are where they

expected to be at this point in their

lives (54%). Religious or spiritual life

is among the top three most important

life areas to boomers, along with

relationships with family and friends,

and physical health. And boomers hope

to make solid gains in this domain in

the next five years. As boomers age,

their religious or spiritual life begins

to become more important to many

of them.

Target Goals and Likelihood ofAchieving Goals

Boomers hope to make improvements

in every major life area in the next five

years. But many are uncertain whether

they will achieve their goals. In fact, the

areas in which boomers hope for the

greatest improvements—personal

finances, physical health, work or

career, and leisure activities—are the

areas in which they have the least con-

fidence in reaching their goals. Around

half believe it is very likely that they

will reach their target goals in the areas

of personal finances (53%), physical

health (53%), or their leisure activities

(48%), and 59 percent believe they

are very likely to reach their work or

career goals.

Why aren’t more boomers hopeful? In

part because they feel they have less

control in these areas. Half or fewer say

they have a great deal of control over

any of them—personal finances (41%),

physical health (50%), work or career

(45%), and leisure activities (45%).

Barriers to Achieving Goals

Boomers look squarely at themselves

(17%), or in their pockets (16%), when

looking for the barriers to achieving

their goals. In a variety of ways,

boomers in the telephone survey told

us that they themselves are the reason

they are not achieving their goals: “my

lack of confidence,” or “my laziness,

lack of imagination and will,” or “just

Executive Summary

9

me—I’m in charge of my own life.” For

others, their financial situation is the

biggest barrier to achieving their goals.

In some cases, the concerns are their

own personal handling of money, such

as “credit cards,” or “working my way

out of debt.” For others, the barriers are

larger economic concerns, such as the

“stock market,” “cost of living,” and

“economic uncertainty in workplace.”

One in three boomers (35%) say “noth-

ing” is keeping them from achieving

their goals.

Boomers Look to Future

As boomers move toward older age,

they are giving substantial thought to

the future. Most boomers say they think

a lot about what is to come (64%) and

are looking to the future with self-

reliance and cautious optimism. Large

majorities of boomers believe that their

future depends largely on themselves

(68%). They say that, if they really want

to do something, they will find a way to

succeed (65%). As one boomer in the

focus groups explained, “Anything I

want to do, I feel that I can change at

this age.” This steadfast determination

and optimism about the future is not

without worry. Many boomers say

that the words “hopeful,”(64%) and

“confident”(55%) describe their view of

the next five years very well, but a

notable minority also say that

“anxious”(22%) and “stressful”(21%)

describe their feelings about the next

five years very well.

Boomers and the Younger andOlder Generations

How do boomers’ hopes and expecta-

tions compare to those of older and

younger Americans? Chronologically,

boomers are smack in midlife, but only

the calendar marks this midlife status.

Even as the oldest boomers approach

retirement, their hopes and expectations

more closely resemble those of younger

Americans than older Americans.

Boomers share with their parents the

life experiences of raising children,

working for a living, and the first unde-

niable signs of aging, yet the hopes and

expectations of boomers at midlife are

not converging with their parents’

hopes and expectations, at least not

yet. The generation gap between

boomers and the older generation

seems almost as wide as it was when

boomers were coming of age during the

Vietnam War, Watergate, and the civil

rights and women’s movements.

In short:

• In each of the seven life areas,boomers are more likely than olderAmericans to say they are worse offthan expected. Boomers andyounger Americans are more alike inthese assessments.

• More boomers (77%) and youngerAmericans (92%) are optimisticabout the future than olderAmericans (41%). And boomers andyounger Americans hope for moreimprovements in the life areas thanolder Americans.



• Boomers and younger peopleexpress similar perceptions of theircontrol over the life areas, except forphysical health. Compared toboomers (50%), slightly moreyounger people (61%) feel they havecontrol over this area. Older peoplemore often feel they have controlover their finances, their leisureactivities, and their work or careerthan boomers and younger people.But fewer older Americans say theyhave control over their physical andmental health than others.

• Substantial numbers of boomers andyounger adults mention that theythemselves (boomers 17%, younger19%) and their finances (boomers16%, younger 14%) are the biggestbarriers to achieving their goals.Older people most frequently men-tion their mental and physical health(16%), followed by finances (10%),aging (7%), and themselves (6%).

• Boomers (64%) and younger people(78%) are much more likely to saythey think about the future oftenthan older people (41%). All threegroups are optimistic about thefuture, but younger adults are morelikely to be anxious, and older adultsare more often concerned aboutboredom.

Other demographic comparisons show

that boomers sometimes differ across

gender, income, education, and race

and ethnicity in their life perspective.

Intra-Generational Differences

No strong intra-generational differences

were observed between younger

boomers (ages 38 to 45) and older

boomers (ages 46 to 56).

Gender Differences

Few gender differences exist. Where

differences occur they revolve around

relationships with family and friends

and personal finances.

• Female boomers (44%) are slightlymore likely than male boomers(37%) to say their relationships withfamily and friends are the best thingin their life right now.

• Male boomers (80%) are slightlymore likely than female boomers(75%) to say they expect things to be better five years from now.

• Male boomers (32%) are slightlymore likely than female boomers(25%) to mention finances as theirmajor ambition or dream for thenext five years.

Income Differences

Income plays a modest role in shaping

boomers’ evaluation of the life areas

and their views about the future.

• Overall, lower income boomers (lessthan $30,000 household income) areless likely to be satisfied than higherincome boomers ($75,000 or morehousehold income) in each of themajor life areas.

Executive Summary

11

• Religious or spiritual life is an excep-tion. Lower income boomers (53%)are slightly more likely to be satisfiedwith their religious or spiritual lifethan higher income boomers (44%).

• Lower income boomers (26%) aremore likely to say their finances arethe worst thing in their life than arehigher income boomers (17%). Morelower income boomers hope tomake gains in their finances thanhigher income boomers.

• Lower income boomers are morelikely than higher income boomersto think a great deal about nearlyevery life area, and to prefer to bespontaneous rather than plan for the future.

• And boomers earning the lowestincomes are more likely than thosein the highest income bracket to feelthe next five years will be uncertain(21% vs. 8%), boring (18% vs. 2%),anxious (29% vs. 14%) and stressful(31% vs. 16%).

Education Differences

Education also plays a modest role in

shaping boomer assessments of the life

areas and the future.

• Better-educated boomers are slightlymore likely than less well-educatedboomers to be satisfied with theirlives overall (87% vs. 82%). Whenasked if very satisfied, somewhatsatisfied, not too satisfied, or not atall satisfied with each of the specificlife areas, better-educated boomers

are slightly more likely than lesswell-educated boomers to be satis-fied with their mental health (66%vs. 59%), work or career (45% vs. 37%),and personal finances (24% vs. 18%).

• Better-educated boomers are slightlymore likely than less well-educatedboomers to say their relationshipswith family and friends (48% vs.38%) are the best thing about theirlives right now.

• Better-educated boomers (58%) areslightly more likely than less well-educated boomers to feel that theywill achieve their financial goals (50%).

• Less well-educated boomers aremore likely to think about the lifeareas than better-educated boomers.Less well-educated boomers are alsoless likely to feel empowered tochange important things in theirlives (10% vs. 27%) and to have a lesspositive outlook for the future thanbetter-educated boomers.

Race and Ethnicity Differences

Race and ethnicity play a notable role

in shaping boomer attitudes toward the

life areas and their future.

• White, African American, andHispanic boomers are largely satis-fied with the way things are going intheir lives, but fewer African American(75%) and Hispanic (77%) than whiteboomers (86%) are satisfied.



• When asked if they are very satisfied,somewhat satisfied, not too satisfied,or not at all satisfied with each of thespecific life areas, African Americanboomers are less likely to be satisfiedthan white or Hispanic boomers infive of the seven life areas: finances,work or career, relationships withfamily and friends, physical health,and leisure activities. Religious orspiritual life is one area in whichAfrican American (53%) andHispanic (54%) boomers are moreoften satisfied than white (46%)boomers.

• Religious or spiritual life is the mostimportant life area for a plurality ofAfrican American boomers (40%),while family and friends is the mostimportant life area for a plurality ofwhite (49%) and Hispanic (37%)boomers.

• African American boomers are morelikely to hope for near-termimprovements in their personalfinances, religious or spiritual life,work or career, and physical healththan white or Hispanic boomers.

• African Americans tend to be moreconfident than white or Hispanicboomers that they will achieve their goals.

• African American and whiteboomers blame themselves (20%,17%) or say that finances (17%, 16%)are their biggest barrier to achievingtheir goals. Among Hispanicboomers it is “me” (12%), finances(13%), and health (10%).

• African American boomers reporthigher levels of planning and deter-mination to be in charge of their fatethan white or Hispanic boomers.

MethodologyThis nationwide, representative

telephone survey of 3,666 adults age 18

and older was conducted April 11–June

15, 2002, by Princeton Survey Research

Associates. PSRA interviewed 2,127

boomers age 38–56; 781 younger

Americans age 18 to 37; and 758 older

Americans age 57 and older. In addition

to oversampling boomers, PSRA inter-

viewed 1,185 African Americans and

1,161 Hispanic Americans.

For results based on the total sample,

one can say with 95% confidence that

the error attributable to sampling and

other random effects is plus or minus 2

percentage points. The margin of error

for boomers is plus or minus 3

percentage points; for younger adults

18 to 37, it is plus or minus 5 percentage

points; and for older adults age 57

and older, it is also plus or minus 5

percentage points.

In addition to sampling error, question

wording and practical difficulties in

conducting telephone surveys can

introduce error or bias into the findings

of this survey.

A detailed methodological report can

be found in Appendix A.

Executive Summary

13

A companion study of boomers and

older adults was conducted using

focus groups in three cities: Baltimore,

Maryland; Charlotte, North Carolina;

and Kansas City, Missouri. In each city,

four focus groups were conducted:

two consisting of boomers only, and

two with adults age 57 and older.

These groups of approximately ten

individuals comprised a mix of both

male and female, and white, African

American, and Hispanic participants.

These groups were conducted July

17–July 25, 2002, by Princeton Survey

Research Associates.

A detailed focus group methodological

report and moderator’s guide can be

found in Appendix D and Appendix E.



Assessment of Current Life Status

15

III. DETAILED FINDINGS

A. ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT LIFE STATUSBoomers, like Americans generally, are

satisfied with the way things are going

in their lives. But boomers are less likely

than older Americans to be “very satis-

fied” with many aspects of their lives,

and a sizeable minority of boomers say

they are doing worse than expected in

four major life areas. These boomers

report their physical health, personal

finances, work or career, and leisure

activities are worse than they expected

at this time in their lives.

Boomers’ Overall Life Satisfaction

Boomers are generally satisfied with

the way things are going in their lives

overall. However, they report a somewhat

lower level of satisfaction than older

Americans. Eight in 10 boomers (83%)

report a general level of satisfaction

compared to nearly nine in 10 (88%)

older Americans.

Boomers’ Satisfaction with MajorLife Areas

More specifically, boomers report

being more satisfied with some aspects

of their lives and markedly less so with

others. In fact, there are only two life

areas in which a solid majority of

boomers say they are very satisfied—

their relationships with family and

friends (63%), and their mental

health (61%).

Table 1: Boomers’ Satisfaction with Major Life Areas

Overall, how satisfied are you with your ___? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, not too satisfied or not at all satisfied?

Not Too/Very Somewhat Not at All

Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied(%) (%) (%)

Relations with family and friends 63 33 4Mental health 61 33 6Religious or spiritual life 47 43 8Work or career* 39 48 12Physical health 31 52 17Leisure activities 29 52 17Personal finances 20 54 25N=2127 adults ages 38 to 56

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=1646 adults ages 38 to 56



Boomers report that other major aspects

of their lives are less satisfying. Less than

a third say they are very satisfied with

their physical health (31%), leisure

activities (29%), or personal finances

(20%). And less than half say they are

very satisfied with their religious or spir-

itual life (47%), or work or career (39%).

In some of these areas, there is outright

dissatisfaction. As many as one in four

say they are not too satisfied or not at

all satisfied with their personal financial

situation (25%). And nearly one in five

expresses low levels of satisfaction with

their leisure activities (17%) or physical

health (17%).

These dissatisfactions came through

loud and clear in the focus groups,

whether it was finances:

I’m not too satisfied with [my personal

financial situation.] That’s basically

because I’m a single parent. I work

two jobs just to try to keep things

going at home, my bills and all, help

my daughter with college. I think

about the [financial] impact of having

two children in college at the same

time and… that’s really something

that weighs a lot on me.

– 45-year-old African American

female, Baltimore

Leisure activities…

Up until a year ago I always thought

I didn’t have enough time for leisure

activities. Now that I’ve made it one

of my premium things, I find time to

do it. I think we get bogged down

with working and making money

and trying to make ends meet. Once

you get to this age you ask, ‘What am

I working for?’ ‘What am I killing

myself for?’ I’m not going to get a

million dollars or the $250,000

house, so I may as well be happy.


female, Charlotte

Or physical health …

I have a treadmill that’s just collecting

dust. So I had to put that I’m just

‘somewhat satisfied’ [with physical

health] because it’s a goal that I have

not yet achieved.

– 39-year-old white female,

Baltimore

Satisfaction with Major Life Areas

by Generation

Not only does satisfaction vary across

life areas, but also across generations.

In six of the seven life areas, considerably

fewer boomers report that they are very

satisfied than older Americans. The

satisfaction gap between boomers and

older people is at least 10 percentage

points for relationships with family and

friends, religious or spiritual life, work

or career, leisure activities, and personal

finances. And the gap is nearly that

large for physical health.


17

Mental health is the only area where

boomers and older adults are equally

satisfied with the same aspect of

their lives.

Some boomers in the focus groups

report that their lower levels of satisfac-

tion are due to the stress of daily life,

including being part of the “sandwich”

generation that is looking after children

and elderly parents at the same time.

Table 2: Satisfaction with Major Life Areas by Generation

Overall, how satisfied are you with your ___? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied,not too satisfied or not at all satisfied?

Boomers% who say very satisfied with 18–37 38–56 57+

Relations with family and friends 57 63 74Mental health 61 61 63Religious or spiritual life 34 47 60Work or career* 34 39 50Physical health 35 31 38Leisure activities 33 29 47Personal finances 19 20 35

N=781 N=2127 N=758

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=572 adults ages 18 to 37N=1646 adults ages 38 to 56N=202 adults ages 57 and over

As we’re getting older, I think a lot of

us actually have more dependents.

While our kids get less dependent, a

lot of us are facing, ‘Well, what are we

doing with our parents?’ I think

there’s a slew of stress right there, and

a slew of stress for many others that’s

right around the corner.

– 50-year-old white male, Baltimore

Another idea about why boomers are

less satisfied than older people was

offered by an older focus group partici-

pant who thought boomers wanted

more, and that contributed to lower

satisfaction levels.

Because [younger people] could bor-

row the money and buy [everything]

that they wanted right away that we

worked 50 years to get. And then they

tried to figure out how to pay for it

and often they couldn’t. I think that

might be one of the keys to the dis-

satisfaction. First of all, because of

credit and the media, I think that

generation wanted more, in general,

than when we grew up.

– 73-year-old white woman,

Kansas City

Older focus group respondents were

not surprised to find out that they, as a

group, are more satisfied than younger

Americans. Some attributed these

higher levels of satisfaction to the life

experiences of their generation, partic-

ularly the Depression and World War II.

These older Americans consider how

much they have survived, and conclude

these experiences have taught them a

wisdom that positively affects their

attitude toward life.

We’ve had more conflict than the

younger people. We were children

during the Depression; we had World

War II, a major trauma. We’ve seen

the bad side of life and now we’re

sitting back and enjoying the good

side. I think we’re a little bit more

content with our lives.


And according to some boomers in the

focus groups, just having lived longer

gives older people the wisdom and

experience to enjoy life.

The older generation are the ones

who have been through the financial

burdens, have been through the

marriages, relationships, hard times,

family problems; and each time you

go through that you learn how to

deal with it in a certain way. You

don’t get excited, you don’t flare off

too much; you’ve been there and you

can step back and give an example

about how to deal with it. At a

younger age, the least little thing

will flare you off.


female, Charlotte

Another theory about why older people

are more satisfied than younger people

is that older people have accomplished



many life goals. With the mortgage

paid, the kids out of the house, and

retirement on the horizon or already at

hand, older Americans have less to

worry about and more to feel satisfied

about than boomers.

You don’t have as many distractions

in your life as far as raising children,

your career. You can be more focused

on your inner self than everything

else in your life.

– 48-year-old white male, Charlotte

An often-heard explanation for why

older Americans are more satisfied than

boomers is that older people are more

accepting and may expect less.

It’s hard to tell, are people more

satisfied, or just accepting? They

maybe can’t do anything about a

particular situation, so they just

accept it. And there are a lot of people

that are like that.

– 44-year-old white female, Kansas City

Or as some see it, the older generation

just becomes more realistic.

You know, in your career and when

you’re working… you’re thinking

about relationships and finances and

you hope things will be better. And

then one day you wake up and say,

‘This is it. I better learn to deal with it

right where it is because it’s not going

to get any better, probably.’ And you

need to enjoy where you are.


In satisfaction levels, boomers more

closely resemble younger adults than

older ones. As Table 2 shows, younger

adults share with boomers lower levels

of satisfaction than older Americans in

major life areas. In fact, younger people

are even less satisfied than boomers in

their religious or spiritual lives (34% vs.

47%), and their personal relationships

with family and friends (57% vs. 63%).

Boomers’ Most Important Life Area

It is good news that a solid majority of

boomers describe their relationships

with family and friends as very satisfying,

because this area is the most important

one to boomers. When asked to select

the single life area most important to

them, relationships with family and

friends (44%) topped the list, followed

by religious or spiritual life (22%), and

physical health (19%).

Most Important Life Area byGeneration

Older Americans and boomers rate the

same three areas of life as most impor-

tant, but the ordering is quite different.

Older Americans put physical health

(30%), religious or spiritual life (29%),

and relationships with family and friends

(26%) at roughly equal importance.

Younger adults, on the other hand, are

very similar to boomers in the priority

they give to various parts of their lives.

Boomers are somewhat more likely


19



than younger adults to consider their

physical health as the most important

life area (19% vs. 12%).

A male boomer in his early 40’s

summed up the importance of family

and friends:

If you don’t have a happy personal

relationship at home then it’s just not

worthwhile. It is a struggle to keep

going if things aren’t right at home or

with family and friends. That can

affect your physical health, that can

affect your mental health, that can

affect your work and your career.

That’s why I put it first.


Many boomers in the focus groups

told us that their religious or spiritual

life was most important to them because

it was the center around which

everything revolves.

If you’re out of balance spiritually,

you’re out of balance in every other

area of your life. That gives me the

direction I need to navigate all those

other areas.


male, Baltimore

Table 3: Most Important Life Area by Generation

Which one of these areas is most important to you?

Boomers18–37 38–56 57+

Relations with family and friends 48 44 26Religious or spiritual life 19 22 29Physical health 12 19 30Personal finances 9 6 4Mental health 5 3 3Work or career* 4 2 1Leisure activities 2 1 2

N=781 N=2127 N=758



21

Physical health ranks third on the list of

most important aspects of life for

boomers. Like spirituality, many

boomers in the focus groups feel that

good physical health is the foundation

on which other life areas rest.

If you don’t have your health then you

can’t work or you can’t do anything.

So that’s the most important thing.

– 49-year-old white female, Charlotte

Older Americans also place importance

on relationships with family and

friends, religious or spiritual life, and

physical health but, unlike boomers,

older people are equally divided about

which is most important.

I had to go with either religion or

relationships with family. You can

always get a job, as far as finances go.

I don’t care where you go; you can

push a broom, go to McDonald’s

where you can flip hamburgers.

– 64-year-old black/African American

male, Charlotte

Boomers’ Expectations of MajorLife Areas

Are boomers where they expected to be

at this point in their lives? The answer

varies by aspect of life, but many boomers

say they are on track. This is particularly

true in the areas of mental health (62%),


(61%), and religious or spiritual life

(54%). In each of these areas, majorities

say they are where they expected to be

at this point. When combined with the

roughly one in four who report doing

better than expected in each of these

areas, it is clear that most boomers are

meeting or exceeding their expectations

in these three aspects of their lives.

Table 4: Boomers’ Expectations of Major Life Areas

Would you say your___ is better than you expected it to be at this point in your life, worsethan you expected, or are you where you expected to be at this point in your life?

Yes—Where Better WorseExpected Off Off

Mental health 62 23 13Relations with family and friends 61 26 12Religious or spiritual life 54 26 17Work or career* 39 34 26Physical health 44 21 33Leisure activities 44 19 35Personal finances 39 29 31N=2127 adults ages 38 to 56

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=1646 adults ages 38 to 56



On the other hand, there are a troubling

number of boomers who report that

things are worse than they expected in

the other four major aspects of their

lives. One in three boomers says they

are doing worse than they expected

they would be in their leisure activities

(35%), physical health (33%) and per-

sonal financial situation (31%). One in

four say they are doing worse than they

expected in their work or career (26%).

Boomers’ Expectations of MajorLife Areas by Marital Status

These disappointments occur more

often among boomers who have expe-

rienced marital loss or discord than

among those who are married or have

never been married.1 This is a notable

finding since two in 10 (16%) boomers

are currently widowed, divorced, or

separated. For example, nearly half of

those widowed, divorced, or separated

(48%) say that their financial situation

is worse than they expected it would be

at this point in their life. This is a

substantially larger percentage than

boomers who are married, living with a

partner, or never been married (28%).

This pattern prevails in all areas except

boomers’ religious or spiritual life

where about two in 10 in either group

(widowed/divorced/separated 21%,

married/living with/never married 17%)

Table 5: Boomers’ Expectations of Major Life Areas by Marital Status

Would you say your ___ is better than you expected it to be at this point in your life, worsethan you expected or are you where you expected to be at this point in your life?

Widdowed/ Married/ Divorced/ Living with/

% saying worse off Separated Never Married

Personal finances 48 28Mental health 22 11Physical health 40 32Relations with family and friends 16 11Religious or spiritual life 21 17Work or career* 31 25Leisure activities 42 34N=2116 adults ages 38 to 56 N=462 N=1654

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=343 widowed/divorced/separated adults ages 38 to 56N=1293 married/living with/never-married adults ages 38 to 56

1 With the exception of personal finances and leisure activities, married and never-married boomers are equallylikely to say they are worse off. For personal finances, married boomers are better off than boomers who have nevermarried or boomers who have been divorced, separated, or widowed. For leisure activities, those who are marriedor living with a partner are better off than divorced, separated, or widowed boomers. And boomers who have nevermarried are better off than all other boomers.


23

say they are worse off. Otherwise for

all other life areas, widowed, divorced,

or separated boomers are more likely

than their married or single counterparts

to say they are worse off than they

expected to be.

Expectations of Major Life Areasby Generation

On each of the seven specific life areas,

boomers are more likely than older

Americans to say they are worse off

than expected. The difference is striking

in most of the areas. For leisure activi-

ties, 35% of boomers say they are worse

off than expected, compared with only

16% of older Americans. And even on

health—an often cited major concern

for older Americans—there are more

boomers who say they are worse off

than expected (33%) than older

Americans (20%).

The differences between boomers and

older Americans may be due, in part,

to the changes in expectations that

come with becoming an older American.

In the focus groups, some older people

emphasized how retirement, in

particular, prompted an adjustment

of their expectations.

Table 6: Expectations of Major Life Areas by Generation

Would you say your ___ is better than you expected it to be at this point in your life, worsethan you expected, or are you where you expected to be at this point in your life?

Boomers% saying worse off 18–37 38–56 57+

Leisure activities 30 35 16Physical health 32 33 20Personal finances 31 31 16Work or career* 26 26 12Religious or spiritual life 26 17 8Mental health 11 13 7Relations with family and friends 15 12 7

N=781 N=2127 N=758


When I retired at 65, I said, Okay, I’m

never going to be president of the

United States. I’ll never be a four-star

general. I’ll never be the CEO of

General Electric, Inc. What I am right

now is what I’m going to be the rest of

my life.


But there are older Americans who say

they are not meeting their expectations,

and want things to be better.

The only one I was very satisfied with

was mental health, barely. But out of

the rest of them, it was the only one. I

was somewhat satisfied with most of

them. I wanted it to be a little better,

wanted it to be a lot better.


Once again, boomers and younger

adults are more alike. Like boomers, a

quarter or more younger adults feel

they are worse off when it comes to

areas of their life such as leisure (30%),

physical health (32%), finances (31%),

and their work or career (26%).

And in-step with boomers, fewer

younger people feel worse off in terms

of the relationships they have with

family and friends (15%) or their mental

health (11%). But younger adults (26%)

are more likely than boomers (17%) to

say their religious or spiritual life is

worse than they expected.

Life’s Highs and Lows for Boomers

We asked boomers to tell us what the

best thing is about their life right now,

and consistent with their earlier

answers, many cited their relationships

with family and friends. A plurality of

41% referred to their personal relation-

ships as the best thing right now in

their lives. As answers to this question

in the telephone survey show, these

relationships reflect a multitude of

circumstances.

“My children.”

“New granddaughter.”

“I have a baby.”

“That all my kids are out of the

house.”

“Time I spend with my friends.”

“I am taking care of my mom.”

“Twenty-five years married.”

“Being single.”

“I’m divorced and have financial

independence and piece of mind.”

“I got rid of a wife and I’m on my own.”

Roughly one in 10 boomers say the best

thing in their lives is their work or

career (11%), their physical or mental

health (9%), or their religious or spiritual

life (8%). And an additional one in 10

say that “everything” or “just being

alive” (12%) is the best thing.




25

Table 7: Life’s Highs and Lows by Generation

What is the best thing about your life right now?

Boomers18–37 38–56 57+

Family and friends 45 41 19Work or career 12 11 18Health (physical and mental) 6 9 13Personal finances 2 2 2Religious or spiritual life 3 8 9Leisure activities 2 1 4Other

Security/Peace/Stability/Freedom 3 3 4Home/House/Residential locale 3 2 2Education 5 1 *Everything/Being alive 10 12 17Nothing 6 7 8

What is the worst thing about your life right now?

Boomers18–37 38–56 57+

Personal finances 21 20 10Work or career 12 13 4Family and friends 8 9 11Health (physical and mental) 4 8 21Religious or spiritual life 0 0 0Leisure activities 0 0 0Other

Societal concerns 3 4 3Lack of time 2 3 1Aging 0 2 12Residential locale 2 1 *Nothing 28 25 29

N=781 N=2127 N=758

What’s the worst thing in life for

boomers? Finances, followed by work

or career.

One in five (20%) boomers say finances

are the worst thing in their life. And,

unlike work or career, very few (2%)

boomers counter this assessment

by saying that finances are the best

thing in their life. Typical comments

from the telephone survey included

concerns about bills, credit cards, and

college tuition:

“Behind on bills.”

“Bills and taxes.”

“Figuring out how to pay for college.”

“There’s not much money, credit card

debt and interest rates.”

“The worst thing in my life is

my credit.”

Work or career can be a plus for some

boomers, but an albatross for others.

One in 10 boomers cites work or career

as the best (11%) thing in their life, and

as many say it is the worst (13%). Here

are some comments from those who

said it was the worst thing in their life:

“Having to work 40 hours a week and

no play time.”

“I just lost my job because of a

corporate layoff.”

“Finding a good job.”

“I’m working too hard.”

“Probably the pressures of my job.”

And this from those who said it was

the best:

“Job security.”

“Still have a job.”

“Getting practical experience in my

work.”

“I’m getting my business going.”

“I have a pretty good job and

financial security.”

These numbers are consistent with the

earlier finding that more than a quarter

of boomers report being worse off in

their work or career than they thought

they would be. And at the other extreme,

a similarly large minority of boomers

says they are better off in their work or

career (34%) than they thought they

would be (see Table 4).

Fully one in four (25%) boomers say

“nothing” is the worst thing in their life

right now.

Life’s Highs and Lows byGeneration

Older Americans paint a very different

picture than boomers about the best

and worst things. Older people are

much less likely than boomers to

credit their relationships as the best

thing in their life. Their relationships

with various family and friends (19%)

are as commonly mentioned as the best

thing as their work or career (18%), or

the general feeling that everything is

good or that it is good to be alive (17%).



This latter finding is consistent with

the finding that older people are more

satisfied with their lives overall than

are boomers and younger people.

Health and aging are more of a problem

for older adults than for boomers. One

in five (21%) older adults says their

physical and mental health is the worst

thing about their life right now, compared

to fewer than one in 10 boomers (8%).

Older adults (12%) are also much more

likely than boomers (2%) to say that

aging is the worst thing about their life.

In contrast to older people, boomers

and younger Americans respond in a

very similar manner when asked about

the best and worst in life.

A plurality of young Americans (45%)

talk about a close relationship as the

best thing in their life, and their

finances (21%) as the worst thing in

their life right now. Like boomers, work

or career is the best thing (12%) for

younger people about as frequently as

it is the worst thing (12%)

Demographic Differencesin Assessment of CurrentLife Status AmongBoomersSatisfaction with the seven life areas

does not differ substantially by age or

gender for boomers. Younger and older

boomers (see Table 8), and male and

female boomers (see Table 9), differ

little in their reported satisfaction in the

life areas. But income and education

levels do shape satisfaction levels, with

less-affluent boomers (see Table 11)

and less-educated boomers (see Table 14)

generally less satisfied. The exception

is religious or spiritual life, where

satisfaction declines as income rises.

Boomers’ Assessment of CurrentLife Status by Age

The boomer generation spans nearly

20 years. Are younger boomers more

similar to the younger generation and

older boomers more like the older

generation, or do boomers of all ages

share similar levels of satisfaction over

the seven life areas?

The answer is that both younger and

older boomers share similar levels of

satisfaction. As the table shows, there

is remarkable similarity in levels of

satisfaction between younger and

older boomers.

In addition, both groups of boomers

share similar evaluations of their

current situation across most of the life

areas. Religious or spiritual life is the

only area where younger boomers

(21%) are more likely than older

boomers (14%) to say it is worse than

they expected at this point.

Another intra-generational difference

emerges when boomers are asked to

name the best thing in their life right

now. Almost half of younger boomers

(47%) refer to a relationship with family


27



and friends. Fewer, yet still a plurality of

older boomers (35%), say the same.

While this is not nearly as low as the 19

percent of older adults (57+) who say

relationships are the best thing in their

life, it still may be indicative of the

diminishing role of family and friends

as one grows older.

This is somewhat understandable when

we consider that older boomers are

experiencing much greater change in

their personal relationships than

younger boomers.

• Older boomers (45%) are three timesmore likely than younger boomers(15%) to have had their last childmove out of the house.

Table 8: Boomers’ Satisfaction with Major Life Areas by Age

Overall, how satisfied are you with your ___? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, not too satisfied, or not at all satisfied?

Younger OlderBoomers Boomers

% who say very satisfied with 38–45 46–56

Relations with family and friends 63 63Mental health 60 61Religious or spiritual life 45 49Work and career* 39 40Physical health 32 30Leisure activities 28 30Personal finances 19 21

N=945 N=1139

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=762 adults ages 38 to 45N=851 adults ages 46 to 56


29

• Older boomers are more likely tohave experienced the death of aspouse (older boomers 6%, youngerboomers 3%), their father (olderboomers 61%, younger boomers35%), or their mother (older boomers39%, younger boomers 18%).

There are no differences between

younger and older boomers when asked

to name the worst thing in their life.

Boomers’ Assessment of CurrentLife Status by Gender

Gender is also not a dividing line among

boomers. As shown in Table 9, male

and female boomers are equally likely

to say they are satisfied with the way

things are going in the seven life areas.

Moreover, male and female boomers

report similar evaluations of their life

situation across all life areas, except

mental health. Although relatively few

men or women say their mental health

is worse than expected, female (15%)

boomers are slightly more likely than

male (10%) boomers to feel this way

(see Volume II Demographic Breakdowns).

Solid pluralities of male and female

boomers say that the best thing in their

life right now is their relationships with

family and friends, although women

(44%) express this view somewhat more

than men (37%). Male and female

boomers do not differ significantly in

their assessment of what is the worst

thing in their life (see Table 10).

Table 9: Boomers’ Satisfaction with Major Life Areas by Gender

Overall, how satisfied are you with your ___? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, not too satisfied, or not at all satisfied?

% who say very satisfied with Males Females

Relations with family and friends 61 64Mental health 62 60Religious or spiritual life 46 48Work and career* 39 40Physical health 32 30Leisure activities 28 30Personal finances 18 22N=2127 adults ages 38 to 56 N=856 N=1271

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=709 males ages 38 to 56N=937 females ages 38 to 56



Table 10: Life’s Highs and Lows for Boomers by Gender

What is the best thing in your life right now?

Males Females

Family and friends 37 44Work or career 12 11Health (physical and mental) 8 9Personal finances 3 1Religious or spiritual life 7 8Leisure activities 2 *Other

Security/Peace/Stability/Freedom 3 3Home/House/Residential locale 2 3Education 1 1Everything/Being alive 13 12Nothing 8 6


Males Females

Personal finances 21 19Work or career 13 13Family and friends 8 11Health (physical and mental) 7 8Religious or spiritual life 0 0Leisure activities 0 0Other

Societal concerns 4 3Lack of time 2 3Aging 3 1Residential locale 1 1Nothing 24 26

N=2127 adults ages 38 to 56 N=856 N=1271


31

Boomers’ Assessment of CurrentLife Status by Income

Income is a somewhat more informative

factor than age or gender in helping to

understand how boomers evaluate

their life status. Lower-income boomers

are much less likely to say they are

satisfied (and more likely to say they

are dissatisfied) than those making

higher incomes. Specifically, boomers

earning the lowest incomes are as

satisfied as boomers earning higher

incomes in their physical health and

leisure activities, but tend to be less

satisfied than higher-income boomers

in other categories. The one exception

is religious or spiritual life, where the

less-affluent boomers are more satisfied

than top earners.

Table 11: Boomers’ Overall Life Satisfaction by Income

Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in your own life today?

LT $30K $30–LT $50K $50–LT $75K $75K+

Satisfied 69 84 88 89Dissatisfied 27 13 11 9N=1896 adults ages 38 to 56 N=552 N=515 N=354 N=475

Table 12: Boomers’ Satisfaction with Major Life Areas by Income

Overall, how satisfied are you with your ___? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, nottoo satisfied, or not at all satisfied?

% who are very satisfied LT $30K $30–LT $50K $50–LT $75K $75K+

Relations with family and friends 51 60 63 69Mental health 52 55 64 67Religious or spiritual life 53 49 43 44Work and career* 33 31 41 44Physical health 31 31 27 35Leisure activities 29 30 25 29Personal finances 10 19 17 30N=1896 adults ages 38 to 56 N=552 N=515 N=354 N=475

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=341 adults ages 38 to 56 earning less than $30KN=426 adults ages 38 to 56 earning $30K to less than $50KN=305 adults ages 38 to 56 earning $50K to less than $75KN=411 adults ages 38 to 56 earning $75K or more



• Boomers with the lowest householdincomes are less likely to say theyare satisfied with the way things aregoing in their life overall. Of thosewith incomes less than $30,000, 69 percent say they are satisfied, compared to 89 percent of thoseearning $75,000 or more.

• When compared to the top earners,boomers with the lowest householdincomes are less likely to say theyare very satisfied with their personalrelationships (51% vs. 69%), mentalhealth (52% vs. 67%), work or career(33% vs. 44%), and their finances(10% vs. 30%).

• Religious or spiritual life is the onlyarea where this pattern is reversed.Those earning the least are morelikely than top earners to say theyare very satisfied with their religiousor spiritual life (53% vs. 44%).

Income also helps shape what boomers

say are the best and worst things in

their life.

• As income increases, so does thefeeling that the best thing in life isfamily and friends. Three in 10 withthe lowest incomes (28%), aboutfour in 10 in the two middle-incomebrackets (39% and 44%), and five in10 (52%) of the top earners namefamily and friends as the best thingin their lives.

• Another difference is that those withthe lowest household incomes (17%)are more likely than the top earners(8%) to say the best thing about theirlife is an overall good life.

• It is perhaps not surprising that thosewith the lowest household incomes(26%) are more likely than top earners(17%) to say that the worst thing intheir life is finances. What is surprisingis the gap between the groups is sosmall, compared with the incomegap itself.


33

Table 13: Life’s Highs and Lows for Boomers by Income

What is the best thing about your life right now?

LT $30K $30–LT $50K $50–LT $75K $75K+

Family and friends 28 39 44 52Work or career 10 11 13 12Health (physical and mental) 10 9 10 8Personal finances 2 1 1 3Religious or spiritual life 8 11 6 6Leisure activities 2 1 2 1Other

Security/Peace/Stability/Freedom 4 2 3 2Home/House/Residential locale 2 4 2 2Education 2 0 0 0Being alive/Everything 17 12 12 8Nothing 9 6 6 4


LT $30K $30–LT $50K $50–LT $75K $75K+

Personal finances 26 19 22 17Work or career 13 13 14 15Family and friends 8 9 11 10Health (physical and mental) 13 8 5 5Religious or spiritual life 0 0 0 0Leisure activities 0 0 0 0Other

Societal concerns 2 1 3 4Lack of time 1 1 1 7Aging 1 1 2 2Residential locale 1 2 1 1Nothing 23 30 22 24

N=1896 adults ages 38 to 56 N=552 N=515 N=354 N=475



Boomers’ Assessment of CurrentLife Status by Education

Education also plays a modest role in

shaping boomers’ assessments of their

life status. Boomers with a college

degree tend to be more satisfied than

those without a college degree, both

overall and when considering many

specific life areas.

College graduates (87%) are more likely

than boomers who did not graduate

from college (82%) to say that overall

they are satisfied with the way their life

is going. And in a few life areas, college

graduates are more likely than those

without a college degree to be more

satisfied. These areas include:

• Mental health (66% vs. 59%)

• Work or career (45% vs. 37%)

• Personal finances (24% vs. 18%)

College graduates (48%) are more likely

than those without a college degree

(38%) to refer to their relationships

with family and friends as the best

thing about their life right now.

Boomers across different levels of

education otherwise share very similar

experiences when naming the best

and worst things in their life.

Table 14: Boomers’ Satisfaction with Major Life Areas by Education

Overall, how satisfied are you with your ______? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied,not too satisfied, or not at all satisfied?

Less Than College% who say very satisfied with College Degree Grad+

Relations with family and friends 61 66Mental health 59 66Religious or spiritual life 46 50Work and career* 37 45Physical health 31 33Leisure activities 29 29Personal finances 18 24N=2120 adults ages 38 to 56 N=1504 N=616

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=1123 adults with less than a college degree, ages 38 to 56N=518 adults with a college degree or more, ages 38 to 56


35

B. NEAR-TERM LIFE GOALSSome dashed hopes have not stopped

boomers from seeing what is possible,

and generally wanting more from life.

Boomers are optimistic that their lives

will be better in the future. And, without

exception, boomers hope to be doing

better in each of the seven major life

areas five years from now. Finance, and

work or career, top the list of areas

boomers are most hopeful to improve

in the near-term.

General Hopes for the Future byGeneration

Nearly eight in 10 boomers (77%) say

they expect things in their lives to be

better over the next five years. A much

smaller percentage of boomers expect

the status quo to prevail (17%), and just

a handful believe things will be worse

(3%). By contrast, substantially fewer

older Americans (41%) expect things in

their lives to be better over the next five

years. At the other end of the spectrum,

the vast majority of younger Americans

(92%) are optimistic that things will be

better in five years.

Boomers’ Current Status andHopes for Life Areas

To measure current status and hopes

for the future in detail, we asked

boomers to rate on a scale from 0 to 10

their current status in the seven life

areas, and to tell us what they realistically

hope that rating will be in five years.

Table 15: General Hopes for the Future by Generation

Five years from now, do you expect things in your life will be better, the same, or worsethan they are right now?

Boomers18–37 38–56 57+

Better 92 77 41Same 7 17 34Worse 1 3 17

N=781 N=2127 N=758



Currently, boomers give themselves

moderate marks in each of the life

areas, which is consistent with their

earlier assessment of being “somewhat”

satisfied with their lives. On a 0 to 10

scale, boomers rate their mental health

the highest with an average score of 8.3,

followed by their relationships with

family and friends (8.2). At the bottom

of the list are leisure activities (5.6) and

finances (6.2).

In each one of the life areas, boomers

hope to be doing better five years from

now. Areas cited for greatest improve-

ment are the areas boomers rate the

lowest. Leisure activities top this list.

Boomers currently rate leisure activities

at a modest 5.6 on our 0 to 10 scale,

and hope it will jump to 7.6 in five

years, for a targeted gain of 2.0 points

on average. Other areas where boomers

are looking for large gains include their

personal finances (1.8 points) and their

religious or spiritual life (1.4 points).

(See Figure 1 for graphic display of these

findings for all three generations.) As

noted earlier, boomers are least likely

to be very satisfied with their leisure

activities, finances, work or career, and

physical health (see Table 1). And these

same four areas are most often cited as

the ones in which boomers are doing

worse than they expected to be doing

(see Table 4).

Table 16: Boomers’ Current Status and Hopes for Life Areas

How would you rate your ___? Please use a scale that goes from 0 to 10; 10 is the top of thescale and 0 is the bottom of the scale.Given your current ____ situation, what is the best position you could realistically hope tohave 5 years from now? Please use the 0 to 10 scale, where 10 is the top of the scale and 0is the bottom of the scale.

Target ChangeDesired Rating Over Next

Current Rating in 5 Years 5 Years

Leisure activities 5.6 7.6 2.0Personal finances 6.2 8.0 1.8Religious or spiritual life 6.8 8.2 1.4Work or career* 7.3 8.4 1.1Physical health 6.9 8.0 1.1Relations with family and friends 8.2 8.8 0.6Mental health 8.3 8.9 0.6N=2127 adults ages 38 to 56

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=1646


37

Table 17: Major Life Area Boomers Would Most Like to Change

Which one of all the life areas we have been talking about would you most like to change?

Personal finances 35Physical health 17Work or career* 14Leisure activities 10Religious or spiritual life 8Relations with family and friends 6Mental health 1N=2127 adults ages 38 to 56


Major Life Area Boomers WouldMost Like to Change

We find further support for these findings

when we asked boomers to name the

one area that they would most like to

change. The list is a familiar one:

personal financial situation (35%),

physical health (17%), work or career

(14%), and leisure activities (10%).



Figure 1: Current Status and Hopes for Future by Generation

Leisure

Finance

Religious Life

Work

Physical Health

Family

Mental Health

18-37

Boomers

57+

18-37

Boomers

57+

18-37

Boomers

57+

18-37

Boomers

57+

18-37

Boomers

57+

18-37

Boomers

57+

18-37

Boomers

57+

0 2 4 6 8 10

0 2 4 6 8 10

0 2 4 6 8 10

0 2 4 6 8 10

0 2 4 6 8 10

0 2 4 6 8 10

0 2 4 6 8 10

Current Future


39

These hoped-for changes correspond

with a general feeling of some boomers

that there is always hope for improve-

ment, even in areas that seem difficult

to change.

There’s always room for improvement

in any of these categories. And there’s

always another level. Even in your

financial situation or your physical

[health]. Keep striving for another

place in all of these.


female, Baltimore

A closer examination suggests that

boomers may be trying to find more

balance in their lives. Apparently many

boomers do not see themselves living

well-rounded lives. Some areas are

excelling and others are lagging. When

we look at where boomers hope to be

five years from now, it suggests that

boomers may be trying to bring these

different areas into some equilibrium.

In areas where boomers are already

doing well, they hope for modest

changes; whereas in life areas that have

fallen behind, boomers hope for gains

that will bring them more in line with

areas that are doing well.

As boomers told us in the focus groups:

I think they all play off each other. If

there’s not balance in all of those areas

then your whole life doesn’t feel right.

– 39-year-old white female, Baltimore

They all tie in… they all are your

way of life… how you see it… how

you use it… how you work with it…

most of those are the positive things

that you need.


Boomers’ and Older Americans’Current Status and Hopes for Life Areas

In contrast to boomers, older Americans

hope for much more modest gains, and

even acknowledge some backsliding in

the areas of relationships with family and

friends and mental health. As we have

seen, older Americans are more satisfied

with their life situation than boomers and

younger Americans, and as a consequence

may feel less of a need to make dramatic

gains in these areas than their younger

counterparts. The area that older

Americans hope for the most gain is their

religious or spiritual life, where a gain

of just about one point (0.9) is desired.

Focus group participants explain the gap

in expectations between boomers and

older people as a combination of realism

and contentment. The good news is that

older people have “arrived”—they are

settled and generally content. But the bad

news is that older people have fewer

opportunities than younger people to

change things. Focus group participants



Table 18: Boomers’ and Older Americans’ Current Status and Hopes for Life Areas

How would you rate your _______? Please use a scale that goes from 0 to 10; 10 is the top of the scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale.Given your current ____ situation, what is the best position you could realistically hopeto have 5 years from now? Please use the 0 to 10 scale, where 10 is the top of the scale and0 is the bottom of the scale.



BoomersLeisure activities 5.6 7.6 2.0Personal finances 6.2 8.0 1.8Religious or spiritual life 6.8 8.2 1.4Work or career* 7.3 8.4 1.1Physical health 6.9 8.0 1.1Relations with family and friends 8.2 8.8 0.6Mental health 8.3 8.9 0.6N=2127 adults ages 38 to 56

57 and olderLeisure activities 6.5 7.1 0.6Personal finances 6.7 7.1 0.4Religious or spiritual life 7.3 8.2 0.9Work or career* 7.7 7.9 0.2Physical health 7.1 7.4 0.3Relations with family and friends 8.7 8.6 -0.1Mental health 8.5 8.3 -0.2N=758 adults ages 57 and over

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=1646 adults ages 38 to 56N=202 adults ages 57 and over

speculate that the knowledge that it is

difficult to change things later in life

contributes to the contentment of older

Americans, and their generally modest

expectations for the future.

At a younger age you’re willing to

struggle because you really think you

ought to be at a certain point. And

later on you think, “I tried, I did my

best, I’m happy.” It’s not worth the

struggle.



41

Boomers’ and Younger Americans’Current Status and Hopes for Life Areas

Consistent with other findings, younger

Americans are similar to boomers in the

gains they believe are possible across

various life areas. Where differences exist

between the two groups, it is younger

Americans who hope to make greater

gains in the next five years than boomers.

For example, boomers hope for, on

average, a 1.4 rating point increase in

their religious or spiritual life, moving

from a 6.8 to 8.2 rating, while younger

Americans are looking for, on average,

a 1.8 point increase (from 6.9 to 8.7).

Younger Americans, like boomers, seek

improvements in the areas where they

are currently the lowest, such as personal

finances (2.4 point gain), religious or

spiritual life (2.0), work or career (1.8)

and leisure activities (2.0).

Table 19: Boomers’ and Younger Americans’ Current Status and Hopes for Life Areas




BoomersLeisure activities 5.6 7.6 2.0Personal finances 6.2 8.0 1.8Religious or spiritual life 6.8 8.2 1.4Work or career* 7.3 8.4 1.1Physical health 6.9 8.0 1.1Relations with family and friends 8.2 8.8 0.6Mental health 8.3 8.9 0.6N=2127 adults ages 38 to 56

18-37 year oldsLeisure activities 6.0 8.0 2.0Personal finances 5.9 8.3 2.4Religious or spiritual life 6.0 8.0 2.0Work or career* 6.9 8.7 1.8Physical health 7.1 8.6 1.5Relations with family and friends 8.0 8.9 0.9Mental health 8.3 9.0 0.7 N=781 adults ages 18 to 37

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=1646 adults ages 38 to 56N=572 adults ages 18 to 37



Major Ambition for Boomers

When boomers dream about what they

would like to accomplish over the next

five years, their thoughts turn to finance,

work or career and, to a lesser extent,

relationships with family and friends.

In comments made in the telephone

survey, boomers clearly state their

ambition for their financial situation:

“Financial independence.”

“Pay off all my bills.”

“Have enough money to retire

successfully.”

“I would like to pay for my children

to get through college.”

Whereas in the workplace their

short-term dream is to...

“Start my own business.”

“Better career.”

“Start my own investment company.”

“I would like to retire in the next

five years.”

“Have a career change.”

Major Ambition by Generation

Older adults differ from both younger

generations, citing their physical or

mental health most often as the area of

their lives to change (24%). Older adults

nearly as often say that they do not

have a major ambition or goal, or that

they have already accomplished it (22%).

Younger adults are similar to boomers in

these short-term aspirations, except

younger adults (19%) are more likely

than boomers (6%) to say that education

is their one major ambition or dream.

Table 20: Major Ambition by Generation

What one major ambition or dream would you like to accomplish over the next five years?

Boomers18–37 38–56 57+

Personal finances 29 29 12Work or career 19 23 9Relations with family and friends 12 11 8Education 19 6 2Leisure activities 3 5 7Other

Self improvement/New lifestyle or perspective 2 4 4

Health (physical or mental) 3 4 24Religious or spiritual life * 1 2Societal concern 0 * 2Don’t have one/Already accomplished 7 11 22

N=781 N=2127 N=758


43

Demographic Differencesin Near-Term Life GoalsAmong BoomersNear-term life goals vary somewhat by

age and gender but little by the income

or education levels of boomers.

• Younger and older boomers expresssome differences in outlook, witholder boomers somewhat less likelyto strive for greater gain thanyounger boomers.

• Both male and female boomers areoptimistic about the near-termfuture, although men are slightlymore optimistic than women. Whenasked about their major ambition ordream for the next five years, mencite finances and work more thanwomen, while women mention relationships and education morethan men.

Boomers’ Near-Term Life Goals by Age

Older and younger boomers differ

somewhat in their overall outlook for

the near-term future.

• In particular, younger boomers(84%) are more likely than olderboomers (71%) to say that theyexpect things to be better five yearsfrom now.

• Even with this difference, olderboomers (71%) are substantiallymore likely than older Americans(41%) to say they expect things to bebetter in five years.

Younger and older boomers also differ

slightly on the improvements they hope

for in several life areas. These differences

reveal a link, albeit a modest link,

between the younger and older genera-

tions in their goal-setting attitudes.

• As Table 22 shows, younger boomersstrive for greater gains than olderboomers. This is particularly true inthe areas of work or career, physicalhealth, and personal finances.

• Considered across age groups, itappears that with age comes a declinein aspirations. The focus groupssuggest, as noted earlier, that thisdecline could be related to the idea

Table 21: Boomers’ General Hopes for the Future by Age

Five years from now, do you expect things in your life will be better, the same, or worsethan they are right now?


18–37 38–45 46–56 57+

Better 92 84 71 41Same 7 11 22 34Worse 1 3 4 17

N=781 N=945 N=1139 N=758



that as people age they have achievedmore and have less to strive for.

When we look at boomers’ major

ambition by age groups, however, the

relationship between age and desired

change is not as clear.

• Younger boomers (33%) are morelikely than older boomers (24%) tosay that the one major ambition or

dream that they would like toaccomplish over the next five yearsis finance-related. Nonetheless, bothyounger and older boomers are stillmore similar to younger adults(29%) than older adults (12%).

• Younger boomers (8%) are morelikely than older boomers (4%) tosay that their major dream or ambition for the near future is

Table 22: Boomers’ Hopes for Life Areas by Age


Younger OlderTarget change over the next Boomers Boomers5 years (in rating points) 18–37 38–45 46–56 57+

Personal finances 2.4 2 1.6 .4Religious or spiritual life 2 1.6 1.2 .9Work or career* 1.8 1.5 .9 .2Physical health 1.5 1.3 .9 .3Relations with family and friends .9 .7 .5 -.1Mental health .7 .7 .5 -.2Leisure activities 2.0 2.1 1.8 .6

N=781 N=945 N=1139 N=758

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=572 adults age 18–37N=762 adults age 38–45N=851 adults age 46–56N=202 adults age 57+


45

education-related. Younger andolder boomers are closer to olderadults’ aspirations (2%) than to theeducational aspirations of youngeradults (19%).

• And while younger boomers (14%)are more likely than older boomers(9%) to say that their major dream orambition in the next five years dealswith relationships with family or

friends, these are hardly different thanyounger (12%) or older adults (8%).

• Younger (22%) and older (24%)boomers are equally likely to saythat over the next five years theirmajor goal or ambition is somethingrelated to work or their career.

Table 23: Boomers’ Major Ambition by Age



18–37 38–45 46–56 57+

Personal finances 29 33 24 12Relations with family and friends 12 14 9 8Work or career 19 22 24 9Leisure activities 3 3 6 7Health (physical or mental) 3 3 5 24Religious or spiritual life * 1 2 2Other

Education 19 8 4 2Self improvement/New

lifestyle or perspective 2 3 4 4Societal concern 0 * 1 2Don’t have one/Already

accomplished 7 9 12 22N=781 N=945 N=1139 N=758



Boomers’ Near-Term Life Goals by Gender

Male and female boomers differ

little, if at all, when assessing their

near-term future.

• Large majorities of men (80%) andwomen (75%) say they expect thingsin their life will be better five yearsfrom now, with men slightly moreoptimistic than women.

• Male and female boomers do notdiffer markedly in their near-termgoals for any of the seven life areas.

• When asked to share the one majorambition or dream that boomerswould like to accomplish over thenext five years, males (32%) are morelikely than females (25%) to saysomething about their finances;however, this is still the top responsefor both sexes.

• Females are somewhat more likelythan males to mention their familyor friends (females 14%, males 8%),their education (females 8%, males3%), or to say they do not have amajor dream or ambition, or thatthey have already accomplished it(females 13%, males 9%).

Table 24: Boomers’ Major Ambition by Gender


Males Females

Personal finances 32 25Relations with family and friends 8 14Work or career 25 21Leisure activities 4 5Health (physical or mental) 4 3Religious or spiritual life 1 1Other

Education 3 8Self improvement/New lifestyle or perspective 4 3Societal concern 1Don’t have one/Already accomplished 9 13

N=2127 adults ages 38 to 56 N=856 N=1271


47

Boomers’ Near-Term Life Goals by Income

Boomers’ expectations for the general

future do not differ by income level.

And only when discussing their personal

financial situation do we find differ-

ences in any specific life area by income

level, as Table 25 shows on this page.

• Boomers with the lowest householdincomes hope for the largest gains(2.7) in the next five years, whereasthose with the highest householdincomes are not expecting to makesuch large gains (1.3).

To improve their personal financial

situation, a majority (73%) of boomers

are saving or investing their money on a

regular basis. This is somewhat similar to

younger adults (69%), yet significantly

more than older Americans (59%).

Boomers’ Near-Term Life Goals by Education

• Boomers’ overall expectations forthe future vary little by educationlevel.

• Boomers without college degrees say they are doing better than theirpeers with degrees in two areas: religious or spiritual life (27% vs.21%) and mental health (26% vs.16%). In all other areas there wereno differences by education level.

• Boomers of all education levelsshare similar goals or ambitions forthe next five years. The one excep-tion is that boomers with a collegedegree (18%) are more likely to saytheir major goal is related to familyor friends than boomers without acollege degree (9%).

Table 25: Boomers’ Current Status and Financial Hopes by Income

How would you rate your personal financial situation today? Please use a scale that goesfrom 0 to 10; 10 is the top of the scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale.Given your current personal financial situation, what is the best financial position youcould realistically hope to have 5 years from now? Please use the 0 to 10 scale, where 10 isthe top of the scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale.



Earns less than $30,000 4.8 7.5 2.7$30,000–LT $50,000 6.0 7.9 1.9$50,000–LT $75,000 6.5 8.1 1.6Earns $75,000 or more 7.1 8.4 1.3N=2127 adults ages 38 to 56



49

Table 26: Boomers’ Likelihood of Reaching Goals

How likely are you to achieve this goal—very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, or not at all likely?*

Not TooVery Somewhat Likely/NotLikely Likely Likely At All N

Relations with family and friends 69 28 1 2084Mental health 69 28 2 2089Religious or spiritual life 60 37 3 2044Work or career** 59 38 3 1591Personal finances 53 43 4 2081Physical health 53 40 6 2079Leisure activities 48 46 5 2057

* Asked only of those who gave a desired rating of 1 to 10 for the corresponding life area** Asked only of those employed either full-or part-time

Anticipated Problems/Barriers

C. AnticipatedProblems/BarriersDo boomers think they can achieve

their goals? On reflection, do boomers

see these changes that they “realistically

hope” to make as achievable goals for

the next five years? The answer depends

on the life area. Ironically, the areas in

which boomers hope for the greatest

improvements are the areas in which

they have the least confidence in reaching

their goals. And areas where boomers

do not hope to make substantial

improvements are the areas in which

boomers have confidence they will

meet their mark.

Boomers’ Likelihood of Reaching Goals

In this section we explore the perceived

likelihood of boomers reaching goals

they “realistically hope” to achieve in

each of the life areas. This question was

designed to learn what boomers think

they can achieve if they stretch to reach

their goals. We sought to measure a

hoped-for change that was also realistic.

Our interest was to learn what boomers

would set as their goals in each of the

seven life areas when given an opportu-

nity to first rate their current life status,

and then to think about where they could

“realistically hope” to be in five years.

Boomers express greatest confidence in

their ability to achieve their target goals

in two life areas. Nearly seven in 10

boomers say they are very likely to

achieve their target goals in their


(69%) and mental health (69%). In part,

this may be because boomers have

already achieved a relatively high level

of satisfaction in these areas, and are

seeking the smallest improvements.

Recall that when boomers rate where

they are currently, mental health (8.3)

and relationships with family and

friends (8.2) are, on average, the most

highly rated aspects of life (see Table 16).

Perhaps having achieved a relatively

high level of satisfaction in these areas

makes the task of improvement seem

less challenging.

By contrast, finances, physical health,

and leisure activities are the three life

areas in which boomers have the least

confidence they will reach their goals.

Although roughly half of boomers say

they are very likely to meet their target

goals in these areas—finances (53%),

physical health (53%), leisure activities

(48%)—nearly as many boomers say

they are not as confident. These three

life areas are those in which boomers

express the lowest levels of satisfaction

(see Table 1), and are areas where

boomers want to make significant

gains (see Table 16). Boomers’ lack of

confidence to meet their goals may be

because they have been struggling to

improve these areas, and are fully

aware of the difficulties. Nonetheless,

this does not deter them from wanting

to make progress.

Likelihood of Reaching Goals by Generation

Boomers are not the only ones who

wonder if they will achieve their goals

in the areas of leisure activities, physical

health, and finance. Both younger and

older adults voice uncertainty about

their likelihood of achieving goals in

these areas.

• Like boomers, just about half of bothyounger adults and older adults saythey are very likely to meet their goalsin leisure activities and physical health.



Table 27: Likelihood of Reaching Goals by Generation


% who say they are ‘very likely’ Boomersto achieve their goal 18–37 N 38–56 N 57+ N

Relations with family and friends 68 765 69 2084 68 703Mental health 72 768 69 2089 62 694Religious or spiritual life 53 751 60 2044 66 692Work or career** 67 562 59 1591 72 171Personal finances 64 767 53 2081 50 673Physical health 53 771 53 2079 50 682Leisure activities 52 760 48 2057 51 684

* Asked only of those who gave a desired rating of 1 to 10 for the corresponding life area** Asked only of those employed either full- or part-time


51

Table 28: Boomers’ Control Over Major Life Areas

How much control do you feel you have over your _____ —a great deal, a fair amount, not too much, or no control at all?

Not Too Much/Great Deal Fair Amount None At All

Personal finances 41 44 14Leisure activities 45 40 14Work or career* 45 46 9Physical health 50 40 10Relations with family and friends 62 32 5Mental health 64 30 6Religious or spiritual life 69 25 4

N=2127 adults ages 38 to 56


• In addition, boomers (53%) andolder Americans (50%) share a lowerlevel of certainty than youngerAmericans (64%) about meetingtheir financial goals.

Three other differences should be noted.

• First, with age comes a greater confi-dence in reaching one’s religious orspiritual goals.

• Second, and conversely, with agecomes less confidence in reachingone’s mental health goals. Boomersand younger adults express moreconfidence than older Americans intheir ability to achieve these goals.

• And, third, boomers voice less confi-dence than either younger or olderadults in their likelihood of achiev-ing their work or career goals.

Boomers’ Control Over Major Life Areas

These data show that the larger the

hoped-for change, the more cautious

boomers are to claim that they will

reach their goal. This is due, in part, to

the fact that boomers feel they have

less control over some aspects of their

lives than others.

Boomers are less likely to say they have

a great deal of control over those areas

where they seek some of the biggest

improvements. Just half or fewer say


their finances (41%), leisure activities

(45%), work or career (45%), and physical

health (50%).

In the two life areas boomers are most

satisfied with—relationships with family

and friends and mental health (see

Table 1)—majorities say they have a

great deal of control (relationships

62%, mental health 64%).

Even more boomers (69%) say they

have control over their religious or

spiritual life.

Why might boomers feel they have

less control over their finances, leisure

activities, career, or physical health

than the other areas? We explore the

possibilities below.

FINANCES

Finances is the area that boomers are

least likely (41%) to feel they have a

great deal of control over. Finances are

also often cited as a reason for not

achieving what boomers really want

out of life.

These data show that a sense of control

over one’s finances is related to two

interconnected factors: the amount of

money a household earns, and the

management of that money.

• Boomers in the highest ($75,000 ormore) income brackets are morelikely to feel they have a great deal ofcontrol over their finances (51%)than those in the lowest (less than$30,000) income brackets (32%).

• Nearly three in four boomers aresaving money on a regular basis(73%), but a substantial minority ofboomers is not (26%). Saving moneyregularly is strongly related to feelingsof control over one’s finances.

Roughly half of the boomers (47%)who are saving money say they have agreat deal of control over theirfinances, while just 26 percent ofboomers who are not saving share thissense of control over their finances.

As one boomer said in the focus groups,

both aspects of finances—earning and

managing money—are hard to control,

particularly as boomers start to think

about retirement.

To some extent you’re not in control

of your finances. If you’re close to

[retirement], and you’re not really

putting much into it, you’re largely at

the mercy of wherever your finances

are at the time you retired.


LEISURE ACTIVITIES

A closer examination of boomers’ lives

may help explain why fewer than half

(45%) feel they have a great deal of con-

trol over their leisure activities (see

Table 28). Boomers are being pulled in

many different directions with work,

raising children, and caring for aging

parents. With so many demands, many

boomers may be forced to put leisure

time on the back burner.

Many boomers are raising children.

Half of boomers (50%) report they have

at least one child under the age of 18 in

their household. Nearly all older

Americans (95%) have ended that

phase of their life and have no children

under 18 at home. Boomers are more




53

Table 29: Life Status by Generation

Boomers18–37 38–56 57+

Have at least one child under 18 in household 56 50 4

Been married once 57 88 95Become a parent 56 83 90

N=781 N=2127 N=758

likely than the younger generation to

report that they have gotten married for

the first time (88% vs. 57% respectively)

or become a parent (83% vs. 56%). (See

Appendix C)

Boomers (80%) are also much more

likely than older adults (23%), and

somewhat more likely than younger

adults (74%), to be employed. It is not

clear whether boomers expect time

demands to lessen over the next five

years because they plan to retire, see

their children leave home, or simply

make leisure time a higher priority.

But it is clear that this is the area in

which boomers hope to make the

greatest strides, yet do not see it as

very likely in the near future.

For some of the women in the

focus groups, kids leaving home are

the key to having more leisure time

for themselves.

When I’m 57 all my kids will be out

of school. Then I’ll have what I call

my time. From a woman’s standpoint,

we have always been the nurturer,

the caregiver, taking care of the home,

making sure everybody else is happy,

and we have so little time to focus on

ourselves and our own needs. This

will be the time when we really can

[have “my time”] because everybody

else is out of the way.


female, Baltimore

WORK OR CAREER

Work is another area where fewer than

half of boomers (45%) say they have a

great deal of control. One in three

boomers says they have had the experi-

ence of losing a job (36%), and half

have made a major career change at

some point in their lives (51%).

However, these experiences do not

seem to have affected their sense of

control over their work. (See Appendix C)



Table 30: Boomers’ Control Over Work or Career

All in all, how much control do you feel you have over your work or career—a great deal, a fair amount, not too much, or no control at all?

Which of the following changes have you experienced? Have you ever lost your job?Have you ever made a major career change?

A Great A Fair Not Too No ControlDeal Amount Much At All

Lost a job 45 42 10 3Have not lost a job 44 48 6 2Made a major career change 49 44 5 2Have never made a major 40 47 9 4

career change

N=1646 adults ages 38 to 56

• Losing a job could explain why someboomers do not feel they have agreat deal of control over their workor career, but this is not the case.Boomers who have lost a job are aslikely to say they have a great deal ofcontrol over their work or career(45%) as those who have not lost ajob (44%).

• And boomers who say they havemade a major career change aremore likely to say they have a greatdeal of control over their work orcareer than those who have not hadsuch a change (49% vs. 40%).

Neither job loss nor a major career

change explains why nearly half the

boomers say they have a great deal of

control over their work or career. Focus

group participants suggested two other

explanations. At a larger economic level,

a worsening of work life over the last

decade, with private sector and govern-

ment downsizing and reorganizing, may

contribute to a sense of lack of control.

There have been a lot of layoffs. For a

lot of people their work and career

have gone upside down. They thought

they would retire at a certain age,

and all of a sudden they just got a

bucket of water thrown in their face.


And at a personal level, some focus

group participants mentioned that

finding the right job is sometimes a

matter of luck and timing, factors often

out of their control.

There’s a lot of luck and timing in

where you end up or where you get

your first job, which starts you on a

career which you may love or not love.


55

PHYSICAL HEALTH

Only half the boomers say they

have a great deal of control over their

physical health. Like finances, a sense

of control over one’s health is related

to two interconnected factors: current

health status and boomers’ manage-

ment of their health.

Health status is clearly related to

one’s sense of control over physical

health. A full 49 percent of boomers

say they are in excellent or very good

health, and the other half report being

in good (32%), fair (14%), or poor (4%)

health. Boomers in excellent or very

good health (64%) are more likely to

say they have a great deal of control

over their health than boomers who

are in good, fair, or poor health (37%).

Many boomers report taking steps to

stay healthy. A majority of boomers

say they exercise to stay fit (66%), eat

a balanced diet (69%), get routine

health care (76%), and take vitamins

(59%). Of these health-boosting

activities, exercise is the only one

that is related to a greater sense of

control over one’s health. Slightly

more than half of the boomers who

say they exercise to stay fit (53%) feel


their health. Boomers who do not

exercise (45%) are less likely to

express that control.

As boomers in the focus groups told us:

I know I need to lose weight, quit

smoking, exercise, but I don’t do

those things because I guess I’m lazy.

… I’m not motivated.


Control Over Major Life Areas by Generation

Older Americans are more likely than

boomers to say they feel a great deal of

control over their leisure-time activities

(55% vs. 45% respectively), their

finances (47% vs. 41%), and their work

or career (56% vs. 45%). But older

Americans are less likely than boomers

to say they feel a great deal of control

over their physical (41% vs. 50%) or

mental health (55% vs. 64%). Of all the

life areas, physical health is the one

older adults are least likely to say they

have a great deal of control over.

In the focus groups, older Americans

expressed their concerns about losing

control over their health.

Everything else I have coped with in

my life. Physical condition is the one

thing I don’t have a whole lot of control

over. That’s why it bothers me. My

financial situation, if I had half of

what I do, I’d learn how to live with it.

I’ve made my peace with my friends

and with my God. The physical thing

I don’t know what to do with.





Younger Americans and boomers

express similar degrees of control over

all seven life areas except one—physical

health. As age increases, feelings of

control over one’s physical health

decrease. Sixty-one percent of younger

adults feel they have a great deal of

control over their physical health, while

50 percent of boomers and 41 percent

of older adults feel the same way.

Major Barriers by Generation

Boomers look within themselves and at

their finances when looking for the

barriers that keep them from achieving

their goals. When asked to identify

what, if anything, is keeping them from

achieving what they really want out of

life, one in five boomers (17%) blame

themselves, and cite their own lack of

motivation, confidence and ambition.

In their own words in our telephone

survey, boomers tell us that they are

their own barrier to accomplishing

their goals:

“Lack of confidence.”

“Laziness, lack of imagination

and will.”

“Can’t blame it on anybody but

myself.”

“Just me. I'm in charge of my own

life. If you make your own decisions

you are the biggest obstacle. If the

world throws anything my way I

should be able to adjust to it.”

Boomers as often cite a variety of finan-

cial factors (16%) that keep them from

achieving their goals. Some of these are

Table 31: Control Over Major Life Areas by Generation

How much control do you feel you have over your ____—a great deal, a fair amount, not too much, or no control at all?

% who say ‘a great Boomersdeal of control’ over ... 18–37 38–56 57+

Personal finances 39 41 47Leisure activities 46 45 55Work or career* 48 45 56Physical health 61 50 41Relations with family and friends 62 62 61Mental health 63 64 55Religious or spiritual life 64 69 70

N=781 N=2127 N=758

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=572 adults age 18–37N=1646 adults age 38–56N=202 adults age 57+

Table 32: Major Barriers by Generation

What, if anything, is keeping you from achieving what you really want out of life?

Boomers18–37 38–56 57+

Self/Unmotivated/Lazy 19 17 6Personal finances 14 16 10Health (physical or mental) 3 7 16Situations with family or friends 7 7 3Lack of time 6 4 2Education 4 2 1Work or career situation 3 2 1Age 1 1 7Nothing 34 35 49

N=781 N=2127 N=758

larger economic concerns and others

are personal financial habits:

“The way the economy is going.”

“Economic uncertainty in workplace

and instability of your employer.”

“Cost of living.”

“Credit cards.”

“Working my way out of debt.”

“Stock market.”

Younger people tend to mention the

same barriers, with themselves (19%)

and finances (14%) the two most

frequently mentioned. The older

generation most frequently talks about

mental and physical health concerns

(16%), followed by finances (10%),

aging (7%), and themselves (6%).

Over a third of boomers (35%) and

younger people (34%), and nearly half

of older people (49%), say “nothing”

stands in the way of achieving what

they really want out of life. In the case

of older people, many say they have

already achieved their goals.

Comments from focus group participants

suggest that when boomers say nothing

stands in their way, they may mean that

they are the only thing that prevents

them from achieving their goals.

Nothing… just me, myself, and I.


In some ways the [me] category is

the same as the nothing category,

because nothing’s gonna stop you

but you. You choose not to [do

something], so in a sense you’re

stopping yourself.



57

Table 33: Control Over Finances and Religious/Spiritual Life by Age

How much control do you feel you have over your _____—a great deal, a fair amount, not too much, or no control at all?

Younger Older% who say ‘a great Boomers Boomersdeal of control’ over... 18–37 38–45 46–56 57+

Physical health 61 55 45 41Personal finances 39 44 38 47Religious or spiritual life 64 72 66 70

N=781 N=945 N=1139 N=758

Demographic Differencesin Anticipated Problems/Barriers Among BoomersBoomers assess their likelihood of

reaching their goals, and the barriers to

reaching those goals, somewhat differ-

ently depending on their age, gender,

income and, to a lesser extent, education.

• Younger boomers are more likelythan older boomers to feel they havea great deal of control over theirphysical health.

• Male and female boomers have aslight difference in their perceptions oftheir financial, work, and relationshiplife areas.

• And boomers on the top and bottomof the income ladder differ in theirassessment of their likelihood ofachieving, and having control over,their religious or spiritual life andtheir physical and mental health.Barriers to achievement also differby income level.

• Education does not play a substantialrole in explaining differences inboomers’ goals, their feelings of control, or barriers to achievingthose goals.

Boomers’ Anticipated Problemsand Barriers by Age

Younger and older boomers do not

differ significantly in their assessments

about reaching their goals, but they

differ in the amount of control they feel

they have over their physical health.

• Younger boomers (55%) feel theyhave more control over their physicalhealth than older boomers (45%).This is consistent with the overallpattern that younger adults (61%)are most likely to say they have agreat deal of control over their physical health, and older adults(41%) are least likely to say so.

• Younger and older boomers also differ somewhat in the amount ofcontrol they feel they have over their



59

finances and religious or spirituallife. In both cases, older boomersfeel they have less control in theseareas than younger boomers.

Younger and older boomers do not differ

in their assessments of the barriers that

keep them from reaching their goals.

Boomers’ Anticipated Problemsand Barriers by Gender

Female boomers are more confident

they will reach their target goal in their

personal relationships, while male

boomers are more likely to say they

have control in work and finances.

• Female boomers (73%) are morelikely than male boomers (65%) tobelieve that they will reach theirgoals in their relationships with family and friends.

• Male boomers are more likely thanfemale boomers to believe they havea great deal of control over theirfinances (45% vs. 38%) and work orcareer (48% vs. 41%).

• When it comes to barriers keepingboomers from achieving their goals,no significant gender differences exist.

Boomers’ Anticipated Problemsand Barriers by Income

Income is related to boomers’ attitudes

toward: their likelihood of achieving

their religious or spiritual life goals,

their sense of control over their religious

or spiritual life and their health, and

the barriers boomers cited to achieving

their life area goals. The way income

shapes these attitudes differs by

life area.

Demographic Differences in Anticipated Problems/Barriers among Boomers

Table 34: Boomers’ Likelihood of Reaching Relationship Goals andControl Over Finances and Work by Gender

How likely are you to achieve this goal (of better relationships with family and friends)—very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, or not at all likely?

% who say very likely Males Females

Relations with family and friends 65 73

How much control do you feel you have over your _____—a great deal, a fair amount, not too much or no control at all?

% who say they have a great deal of control Males Females

Personal finances 45 38Work or career* 48 41N=2127 adults ages 38 to 56 N=856 N=1271

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=709 males ages 38 to 56N=937 females ages 38 to 56

How much control do you feel you have over your _____—a great deal, a fair amount, not too much, or no control at all?

% who say ‘a greatdeal of control’ over... LT $30K $30–LT $50K $50–LT $75K $75K+

Religious or spiritual life 64 65 73 73Physical health 44 47 54 56Mental health 58 64 65 67N=1896 adults ages 38 to 56 N=552 N=515 N=354 N=475



• Boomers with the lowest incomes(earning less than $30,000) are morelikely (71%) than those earning highincomes ($75,000 or more, 53%) to seethemselves as “very likely” to achievetheir religious or spiritual goals.

• However, it is boomers with thehighest incomes, $75,000 or more,who are most likely to report havinga great deal of control over their religious or spiritual life (73%), compared to 64 percent of thosewith the lowest incomes.

• Boomers in the two top incomegroups are also more likely to feel a great deal of control over theirphysical and mental health thanthose in the lowest-income group.

When looking at major barriers to

achievement of life goals:

• Boomers with the highest incomesare more likely than those with thelowest to claim “themselves” (19%vs. 13%) and lack of time (8% vs. 1%)as barriers to fulfilling their goals.

• Boomers with the lowest incomesare more likely than those with the

highest incomes to say finances(24% vs. 13%) and health (15% vs. 2%)are barriers to fulfilling their goals.

Boomers’ Anticipated Problemsand Barriers by Education

Education plays a limited role in

explaining differences in boomers’

likelihood of achieving their goals, their

feelings of control, and their perceived

barriers, however:

• Boomers who have completed a college degree are more likely tobelieve they will reach their financialgoal (58%) than those who have notcompleted college (50%).

• Boomers with more education aremore likely to claim lack of time (3% no college degree vs. 8% collegedegree) and family or friends as barriers (6% no college degree vs. 10%college degree), while boomers withthe least education are more likely to feel restricted by their finances(17% no college degree vs. 13% collegedegree) or their health (9% no collegedegree vs. 4% college degree).

Table 35: Boomers’ Control Over Religious/Spiritual Life and Health by Income

61

Table 36: Thinking About the General Future by Generation

How often do you think about your future? Do you think about your future often, sometimes, rarely, or never?

Boomers18–37 38–56 57+

Often 78 64 41Sometimes 18 26 25Rarely/Never 4 9 32

N=781 N=2127 N=758

D. Planning the FutureBoomers expect their lives to be better

in the next five years. How much

thought do they give to the future? And

does the future look bright? In general,

boomers think a fair amount about

the future, and they are looking to

the future with a strong feeling of

self-reliance and cautious optimism.

Thinking About the GeneralFuture by Generation

Virtually all boomers think about their

future often (64%) or at least sometimes

(26%), with few saying they rarely or

never (9%) think about it.

Boomers are much more likely to think

about the future than older people (41%),

and less likely than younger people

(78%). Consistent with this finding,

boomers (83%) are more likely to agree

with the statement “I plan a lot for my

future,” than older adults (67%),

but less than younger adults (90%).

In the focus groups, boomers gave

numerous reasons for their focus on

the future—kids, work, finances and

health concerns.

Not many men in my family make it

past the age of 60. When I look at my

life I think it’s two-thirds over. I find

myself often looking to the future to

make sure I’m progressing with the

plans that I have.


male, Baltimore

And for some boomers, focusing on the

future means coming up with strategies

to fight the downside of old age, which

includes seeing the positive side of getting

older and ignoring “societal myths.”

I want to be an 80-year-old fox. I

don’t want to be on a cane or walker.

If I go and sit down in the rocker and

let life pass me by, that’s just what’s

going to happen. But if I go for life,

then I think I’ll have a great ending.


female, Baltimore

Planning the Future

At the gym where I work out, I’ve seen

guys in their 70s and 80s working out

hard. People are realizing that this age

thing is a myth. One day at work a

lady turned 50, and they were telling

her that she was over the hill, and to

me that is a societal myth. Society puts

this thought into people ‘you get to 50

and you’re done.’ But I don’t believe

that. I believe in myself and what I

can do myself. So I see those guys at

the gym in their 60s and 70s, working

out and lifting weights, and I admire

them. I hope they keep doing that.

– Boomer Hispanic male, Kansas City

[In describing the kind of older per-

son she wants to be] I’d live in a big

house with my kids and their fami-

lies and my grandkids and great

grandkids. And I want to tell them

stories about what it was like. And I’ll

be the sage old matriarch and every-

one defers to me. That’s what I want

and everybody’s happy.


And other focus group participants

think the future will be different for

boomers, just as their younger years

were different.

Just by sheer numbers you see the

impact [of boomers] from Woodstock

to the AARP. I think from the sheer

numbers, this group is having a big

impact as we age.


Perhaps one reason that older people

are less likely than younger people to

think about the future is that some older

Americans see the future as now. Their

planning was nearly complete and now

they are taking one day at a time and

enjoying themselves.

The future is now. I say my future

is now.


I think one day at a time.


Other older focus group participants

said thinking about the future was

important to keep older people active.

Planning for the future is healthy

because when you stop planning for

the future and what you’re going to

do next, you vegetate.


Thinking About Life Areas byGeneration

What people think about when consid-

ering the future varies by generation.

Across the seven major life areas,

boomers are most likely to think a

great deal about their relationships

with family and friends (58%), and are

least likely to think a great deal about

their mental health (23%) or their leisure

activities (26%). Similar responses were

given by younger adults (relationships

57%, mental health 21%, leisure

activities 30%) and older adults



Planning the Future

63

Table 37: Thinking About Life Areas by Generation

In the past month, how much have you thought about ___? Have you thought about it agreat deal, a fair amount, not too much, or not at all?

% who say they have thought‘a great deal’ about a life area Boomersin last month 18–37 38–56 57+

Relations with family and friends 57 58 55Personal finances 62 47 25Work or career* 57 46 29Religious or spiritual life 36 45 56Physical health 41 41 40Leisure activities 30 26 29Mental health 21 23 22

N=781 N=2127 N=758

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=572 adults age 18–37N=1646 adults age 38–56N=202 adults age 57+

(relationships 55%, mental health 22%,

leisure activities 29%).

While the generations are like-minded

in these areas, finances and work occupy

the thoughts of the two younger gener-

ations more so than the older generation.

Conversely, with age comes more

thought about religion and spiritual life.

Six in 10 younger adults say they think

about their personal financial situation

(62%) or their work or career (57%) a

great deal. Boomers are less likely to

report thinking about their finances

(47%) or their work or career (46%).

Older Americans are the least likely of

the three groups to say they think a

great deal about finances (25%) or their

work or career (29%). Instead, they are

more likely than boomers (56% vs.

45%) to think about their religious or

spiritual life, and both groups are more

likely to think about this than younger

Americans (36%).

Planning for the Future byGeneration

In general, thinking about the future

declines with age. Why? Apparently

many older people think they have

done all the planning they need to do.

A majority of Americans 57 and older

(61%) say this. Boomers (30%) and

younger people (29%) are notably less

likely to share this view.

This sentiment dovetails with the desire

to be spontaneous rather than plan for

the future in detail. Slightly less than

half of boomers (45%) and younger

adults (46%) say they would rather be

spontaneous than plan for their future,



Table 38: Planning for the Future by Generation

Please tell me if you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement.

Boomers% who say strongly/somewhat agree 18–37 38–56 57+

At this point in my life, I’ve done allthe planning I need to do 29 30 61

I would rather be spontaneous than plan my future in detail 46 45 59

N=781 N=2127 N=758

Table 39: Attitudes About the Future and Control Over the Future by Generation

Please tell me if you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement.

Boomers18–37 38–56 57+

What happens to me in the future mostly depends on meStrongly agree 76 68 53Somewhat agree 17 20 31Somewhat/Strongly disagree 7 11 12

When I really want to do something, I usually find a way to succeed at itStrongly agree 69 65 61Somewhat agree 28 30 32Somewhat/Strongly disagree 3 4 4

N=781 N=2127 N=758

but a majority of older adults (59%)

say spontaneity, rather than planning,

characterizes their attitude toward

the future.

Attitudes About the Future and Control Over the Future by Generation

A majority of adults of all ages solidly

feel in control of their own future.

However, with age comes a growing

sense that sometimes circumstances

beyond one’s control determine the

course of events. Boomers are somewhat

less likely than younger adults, but more

likely than older adults, to strongly

agree that what happens to them in the

future mostly depends on what they do.

Only about half (53%) of Americans 57

and older agree with this statement.

More boomers (68%) share this sense

of self-empowerment, and an even

greater number of young people (76%)

feel they are in charge of their future.

65

This does not mean that large minorities

of boomers and older people feel

powerless to direct the future. On the

contrary, these people are more circum-

spect in their assessment of how much

control they have, and say that what

happens in the future “somewhat”

depends on what they do.

The tenacity of Americans of all ages

comes through when we asked people

to agree or disagree with the statement,

“When I really want to do something,

I usually find a way to succeed at it.”

Boomers (65%) share with younger

Americans (69%) a strong sense that

when they really want to do something,

they usually find a way to succeed at it.

Older adults (61%) share this belief only

slightly less than younger adults.

As a boomer told us in the focus groups:

If I really want to do something, I’m

going to find a way. There is a way.


female, Baltimore

But some boomers acknowledged

that sometimes there are things that

cannot be changed, or that the desire

to change things may subside with age.

When you’re younger you’ve got this

cat by the tail. It’s very competitive.

And when you get older that drive

that pushes you to keep you thinking

you can change everything subsides

and mellows you out.


male, Baltimore

Describing the Next Five Years: Boomers

Overall boomers are optimistic about

the near future, however, it is not

without worry. This becomes clear

when we see how boomers describe

the next five years. The list is topped

with “hopeful” (64%), “confident” (55%),

“fulfilling” (49%), and “exciting” (46%).

Few boomers say that “uncertain”

(12%) or “boring” (9%) are optimal

words to describe their feelings. While

it seems that boomers tend to see the

next five years in a positive light, one

in five worry about it, saying that

“anxious” (22%) or “stressful” (21%)

describes the future very well.

Describing the Next Five Years by Generation

Older adults more than anything else are

optimistic about the next five years. About

half or more of older adults say that

“hopeful” (57%), “confident” (57%), or

“fulfilling” (49%) describe the near future

very well, and one-third think “exciting”

(36%) says it all. As it is for boomers,

these are much larger than the percent

who say “anxious” (18%), “stressful”

(16%), “uncertain” (14%), or “boring”

(17%) describe the future very well.

Still, when comparing these percents

to boomers, older adults are somewhat

less likely than boomers to be “hopeful”

(57% vs. 64%), “excited” (36% vs. 46%),

or “stressed” (16% vs. 21%) about the

future, and more likely to see it as

“boring” (17% vs. 9%).

Planning the Future

Like the other two generations, younger

adults think more positively than not

about the future. However, younger

adults are even more likely than

boomers to think positively, with

solid majorities saying that “hopeful”

(72% vs. 64%), “confident” (61% vs. 55%),

“fulfilling” (55% vs. 49%), and “exciting”

(57% vs. 46%) describe the future very

well. In addition, the younger generation

is somewhat more likely than boomers

to be nervous about the future, with a

quarter saying that “anxious” (28% vs.

22%) describes it very well. Both groups

are equally likely to say that “stressful”

(25% vs. 21%), “boring” (7% vs. 9%), or

“uncertain” (11% vs. 12%) describe the

future very well.



Table 40: Describing the Next Five Years by Generation

When you think about the next five years how well does ______ describe your feelings—very well, somewhat well, not too well, or not at all well?

Boomers% who say it describes it ‘very well’ 18–37 38–56 57+

Hopeful 72 64 57Confident 61 55 57Fulfilling 55 49 49Exciting 57 46 36Anxious 28 22 18Stressful 25 21 16Uncertain 11 12 14Boring 7 9 17

N=781 N=2127 N=758

67

Table 41: Thinking About the General Future by Age

How often do you think about your future? Do you think about your future often, sometimes,rarely, or never?


18–37 38–45 46–56 57+

Often 78 70 59 41Sometimes 18 22 30 25Rarely/Never 4 8 10 32

N=781 N=945 N=1139 N=758

Demographic Differences inPlanning the FutureAmong BoomersBoomers think about, plan for, and

assess their future somewhat differently

depending on their age, income,

education, and, to a much lesser

extent, their gender.

• Younger boomers spend more timethinking about their future thanolder boomers, a pattern that mirrors the overall population.

• Income makes a big difference inhow boomers think about the future.Lower-income boomers are muchmore likely than those with higherincomes to think a great deal abouteach life area, and, at the same time,would prefer to be spontaneousrather than plan for the future.

• Following in a similar pattern, less-well-educated boomers think moreabout the specific life areas than better-educated boomers.

• Few gender differences exist amongboomers, and those that do reflect

different levels of attention to somelife areas, and a slightly differentoutlook for the future.

Planning the Future by Age

As boomers age, they spend less time

thinking about the future overall.

• Younger boomers (70%), ages 38 to45, more than older boomers (59%),ages 46 to 56, say they think aboutthe future often. This fits with thegeneral pattern of people thinkingabout the future less as they age.

This general pattern of thinking about

the future less with age prevails in two

life areas—finance and work or career.

• As shown in Table 41, six in 10younger adults (62%) say they thinkabout their personal financial situation often, followed by youngerboomers (53%), older boomers(42%), and older adults (25%).

• Nearly six in 10 younger adults (57%)who are working say they thinkabout their work or career a greatdeal. Even fewer younger boomers

Demographic Differences in Planning the Future among Boomers



Table 42: Thinking About Life Areas by Age

In the last month, how much have you thought about ___? Have you thought about it agreat deal, a fair amount, not too much, or not at all?

% who think Younger Olderabout each aspect Boomers Boomersof life ‘a great deal’ 18–37 38–45 46–56 57+

Relations with family and friends 57 62 55 55Personal finances 62 53 42 25Mental health 21 26 20 22Work or career* 57 50 44 29Religious or spiritual life 36 48 43 56Physical health 41 44 39 40Leisure activities 30 28 24 29

N=781 N=945 N=1139 N=758

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=572 adults age 18–37N=762 adults age 38–45N=851 adults age 46–56N=202 adults age 57+

(50%), older boomers (44%) andolder adults (29%) who are workingsay they think about their work orcareer a great deal.

While many older adults feel that they

had already done their planning and

they can now be more spontaneous,

there is no indication that this seed

of spontaneity is planted in older

boomers.

• Younger (29%) and older boomers(30%) are equally likely to think theyhave done all the planning theyneed to do, and both younger (46%)and older boomers (45%) say theywould rather be spontaneous thanplan for their future in detail.

Where we see change based on age is in

the amount of control people feel they

have over their own future.

• Older boomers (64%) are somewhatless likely than younger boomers(73%) to strongly believe that whathappens to them in the future mostlydepends on what they do. And olderboomers (62%) are somewhat lesslikely than younger boomers (68%)to say that when they really want todo something, they usually find away to succeed at it.

Finally, younger boomers are more

likely to be both “excited” (51%) and

“anxious” (25%) about the near-term

future than older boomers (excited 40%,

anxious 18%).

69

Table 43: Attitudes About the Future and Control Over the Future by Generation

Please tell me if you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagreewith each statement.


% who say strongly agree 38–45 46–56

What happens to me in the future mostly depends on me 73 64

When I really want to do something, I usually find a way to succeed at it 68 62

N=945 N=1139

Planning the Future by Gender

Male and female boomers tend to

dedicate similar amounts of time to

thinking about the future in general,

but gender differences emerge when

considering the specific life areas.

When it comes to how much control

male and female boomers have over

their future, both feel the same. In

addition, male and female boomers

tend to agree on the adjectives they

would use to describe their feelings

about the next five years with two

exceptions—“anxious” and “hopeful.”

• Females are more likely than malesto put a great deal of thought intotheir mental health (females 25%,males 20%), personal relationships(females 61%, males 55%), and reli-gion and spiritual life (females 50%,males 40%).

• Males (25%) are somewhat morelikely than females (19%) to say that

“anxious” describes their feelings verywell about the next five years, andfemales (68%) are more likely thanmales (59%) to say that “hopeful”describes the next five years very well.

Planning the Future by Income

Low-income boomers are more likely

than high-income boomers to think a

great deal about nearly every life area,

to prefer to be spontaneous rather than

plan for the future, and to be more

concerned about the future.

• Boomers earning the lowest incomesare more likely than boomers earn-ing the highest incomes to give agreat deal of thought to every lifearea but leisure activities.

• Lower-income boomers (28% lessthan $30,000) are also more likelythan higher-income boomers (20%$30,000 to less than $50,000, 13%$50,000 to less than $75,000, 11%$75,000 or more) to say they would




Table 44: Boomers’ Thinking About Life Areas by Income


% who think about eachaspect of life ‘a great deal’ LT $30K $30–LT $50K $50–LT $75K $75K+

Relations with family or friends 66 61 56 52Finances 66 49 41 38Work or career* 52 49 43 41Religious or spiritual life 60 43 44 36Physical health 53 49 35 27Leisure activities 25 30 23 24Mental health 34 26 19 14N=1896 adults ages 38 to 56 N=552 N=515 N=354 N=475

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=341 adults ages 38 to 56 earning less than $30KN=426 adults ages 38 to 56 earning $30K to less than $50KN=305 adults ages 38 to 56 earning $50K to less than $75KN=411 adults ages 38 to 56 earning $75K or more

rather be spontaneous than plan indetail for their future.

• The outlook on the future is moredowncast for lower- than higher-income earners. Boomers with thelowest incomes are more likely thanhigh-income earners to feel that thenext five years will be “uncertain”(21% vs. 8%), “boring” (18% vs. 2%),“anxious” (29% vs. 14%), or “stressful”(31% vs. 16%).

Planning the Future by Education

Less-well-educated boomers think

more about the life areas, are less likely

to feel empowered, and have a less-

positive outlook for the near-term

future than boomers who have

graduated from college.

• Boomers without a college degreeare more likely than boomers with a college degree to put a great dealof thought into their finances (51% vs. 38%), religious or spirituallife (48% vs. 39%), physical health(44% vs. 33%), and mental health(26% vs. 16%).

• Boomers without a college degree(27%) are more likely to feel there islittle they can do to change importantthings in their lives than boomerswith a college degree (10%).

• More boomers without a collegedegree (49%) than those with a college degree (35%) say they wouldrather be spontaneous than plantheir future in detail.

71

Table 45: Boomers’ Thinking About Life Areas by Education


% who think about each aspect Less Than Collegeof life ‘a great deal’ College Degree Grad+

Relations with family and friends 60 54Personal finances 51 38Work or career* 46 46Religious or spiritual life 48 39Physical health 44 33Leisure activities 27 22Mental health 26 16N=2120 adults ages 38 to 56 N=1504 N=616

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=1123 adults with less than a college degree ages 38 to 56N=518 adults with a college degree or more ages 38 to 56

• More boomers without a collegedegree say words like “boring”(11% vs. 2%), “anxious” (26% vs.11%), “uncertain” (13% vs. 9%), and“stressful” (23% vs. 17%) describetheir feelings about the next fiveyears very well than boomers with a college degree. Boomers with acollege degree are more likely thanless educated boomers to say that“fulfilling” (57% vs. 45%) describestheir feelings very well.




73

Table 46: Boomers’ Overall Life Satisfaction by Race/Ethnicity

Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in your own life today?

White African American Hispanic

Satisfied 86 75 77Dissatisfied 12 22 19N=2083 adults ages 38 to 56 N=738 N=702 N=643

E. Ethnic and RacialComparisons AmongBoomersTo achieve a complete picture of

boomers at midlife, oversamples of

African American and Hispanic

boomers were collected. Compared

to the other demographic variables

already discussed, race and ethnicity

plays a larger role in shaping attitudes

and expectations of boomers.

Overall, African American boomers

have a somewhat different view of their

lives and their future than white or

Hispanic boomers. In some critical

areas—finance and work—African

American boomers are more dissatis-

fied than their peers, and say they

are doing worse than expected. But

African American boomers plan to

change this. They are more likely than

white or Hispanic boomers to aim for

larger gains in many areas, and to be

more confident they will meet those

goals. One possible reason for this

greater determination and confidence

is that they generally report planning

for their future more than white or

Hispanic boomers.

Assessment of Life StatusAmong White, AfricanAmerican and HispanicBoomers

Boomer Overall Life Satisfaction by Race/Ethnicity

Solid majorities of African American,

Hispanic, and white boomers say they

are satisfied with their lives, but white

boomers are more satisfied than the

other two groups. Of white boomers, 86

percent say they are satisfied with the way

things are going in their lives, compared

to 75 percent of African American and

77 percent of Hispanic boomers.

Ethnic and Racial Comparisons Among Boomers



Table 47: Boomers’ Satisfaction with Major Life Areas by Race/Ethnicity

Overall, how satisfied are you with your ___? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, nottoo satisfied, or not at all satisfied?

% very satisfied in each life area White African American Hispanic

Relations with family and friends 63 57 65Mental health 61 61 63Religious or spiritual life 46 53 54Work or career* 40 27 49Physical health 30 30 39Leisure activities 29 25 34Personal finances 21 10 25N=2083 adults ages 38 to 56 N=738 N=702 N=643

* Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=610 white adults ages 38 to 56N=521 African American adults ages 38 to 56N=484 Hispanic adults ages 38 to 56

Boomer Satisfaction with MajorLife Areas by Race/Ethnicity

With two exceptions, African Americans

boomers are less likely to say they are

very satisfied than either white or

Hispanic boomers in specific life areas.

African American boomers (61%) are

as likely as white (61%) or Hispanic

(63%) boomers to be satisfied with

their mental health.

The second and more notable exception

is religious or spiritual life. In this area

it is white boomers who fall behind

both African American and Hispanic

boomers. More than half of African

American (53%) and Hispanic (54%)

boomers are very satisfied with their

religious or spiritual lives, but fewer white

boomers (46%) share this assessment.

African American boomers are less

satisfied than white or Hispanic

boomers in five of the seven life areas:

finances, leisure activities, physical health,

work or career, and relationships with

family and friends. And of the five areas,

African American satisfaction levels fall

dramatically behind those of their peers

in personal finance and work or career.

• Only one in 10 African Americanssays they are very satisfied with theirfinancial situation. Although smallpercentages of white (21%) andHispanic (25%) boomers are verysatisfied with their personal finances,these two groups are twice as likelyas African Americans to say they arevery satisfied. Conversely, AfricanAmericans (19%) are twice as likelyas whites (8%) or Hispanics (9%) tosay they are not at all satisfied withtheir financial situation.

• Work or career follows a similar, but less stark, pattern. Roughly three

75

in 10 African American boomers(27%) are very satisfied with theirwork or career, compared to four in10 white (40%) and half of Hispanicboomers (49%).

• Majorities of all three groups arevery satisfied with their relationshipswith family and friends. But AfricanAmerican boomers express somewhatless satisfaction (57%) than white(63%) or Hispanic (65%) boomers.

• Differences are nearly as great forleisure activities. African Americanboomers (25%) are less satisfied than white (29%) or Hispanicboomers (34%).

• When it comes to physical health,white (30%) and African Americanboomers (30%) are somewhat lesslikely to say they are very satisfiedthan Hispanic boomers (39%).

Boomers’ Most Important LifeArea by Race/Ethnicity

Boomers’ top priorities in life diverge

significantly across the three groups.

For a plurality of African Americans

(40%), religious or spiritual life is

paramount. It tends to be less important

to white (20%) and Hispanic (19%)

boomers, taking a back seat to their

relationships with family and friends.

Half of white boomers (49%) and more

than a third of Hispanic boomers (37%)

say that these relationships are most

important to them. About one in five

(18%) African American boomers

says the same.

Physical health ranks in the top three

most frequently mentioned areas for

all three groups. However, African

American (22%) and Hispanic (22%)

boomers are more likely than white


Table 48: Boomers’ Most Important Life Area by Race/Ethnicity

Which one of these areas is most important to you?


Relations with family and friends 49 18 37Religious or spiritual life 20 40 19Physical health 16 22 22Personal finances 5 11 9Mental health 2 4 4Work or career* 3 1 3Leisure activities 1 1 1N=2083 adults ages 38 to 56 N=738 N=702 N=643




(16%) boomers to say it is most

important. Similarly, African American

(11%) and Hispanic (9%) boomers are

somewhat more likely than white (5%)

boomers to say that their personal

financial situation is most important.

Still, it is considered most important

by only about one in 10 or fewer in

any group.

Near-Term Life Goals forWhite, African Americanand Hispanic Boomers When we asked if boomers were where

they expected to be at this point in

their lives, sizable majorities of each

group said they are, or are doing better

than they expected. But these assess-

ments vary in important ways among

the three groups.

Boomers’ Expectations of MajorLife Areas by Race/Ethnicity

In the areas of religious or spiritual life,

relationships with family and friends,

mental health and physical health,


boomers are more likely than white

boomers to say they are better off than

they expected to be at this point in

their lives.

• Close to four in 10 African American(39%) and Hispanic (36%) boomerssay their religious or spiritual life isbetter than they expected, comparedto just two in 10 whites (23%).

• In the area of mental health, three in10 African American (29%) andHispanic (31%) boomers are doingbetter than expected, compared totwo in 10 white boomers (21%).

• In the area of physical health,African American (26%) and Hispanicboomers (24%) report exceedingtheir expectations slightly more thanwhite boomers (20%). But in the caseof all three groups, sizable minoritiessay their physical health is worsethan they expected it to be.

• More African American (30%) andHispanic (32%) than white (24%)boomers say relationships with family and friends are better thanthey had expected.

African American boomers are generally

disappointed with their work or career

situation, leisure activities, and finances.

By and large, experiences of white and

Hispanic boomers are more positive than

those of African American boomers.

• In work, African American boomers(31%) are more likely than white(26%) and Hispanic boomers (18%)to say their career is worse thanexpected at this point.

• In play, African American (34%) andwhite (36%) boomers are more likelythan Hispanic boomers (25%) to saythat their leisure activities are worsethan expected.

Table 49: Boomers’ Expectations of Major Life Areas by Race/Ethnicity

Would you say that your ___ is better than you expected to be at this point in your life,worse than you expected, or about where you expected to be at this point in your life?

Yes—Where Better Off Worse Off Expected

Mental health White 21 13 64African American 29 10 58Hispanic 31 11 55

Relations with White 24 12 62family and friends African American 30 10 58

Hispanic 32 13 55

Religious or White 23 17 57spiritual life African American 39 20 39

Hispanic 36 17 44

Work or career* White 33 26 39African American 28 31 39Hispanic 40 18 39

Physical health White 20 34 45African American 26 29 42Hispanic 24 29 43

Leisure activities White 18 36 44African American 21 34 43Hispanic 28 25 45

Personal finances White 29 30 40African American 21 44 34Hispanic 34 26 37

N=2083 adults ages 38 to 56 * Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=738 white adults ages 38 to 56 N=610 white adults ages 38 to 56N=702 African American adults ages 38 to 56 N=521 African American adults ages 38 to 56N=643 Hispanic adults ages 38 to 56 N=484 Hispanic adults ages 38 to 56

• In personal finances, AfricanAmerican boomers have enduredmore unmet expectations than whiteand Hispanic boomers. More thanfour in 10 African American boomers(44%) say they are worse off financiallythan they expected, compared to

three in 10 white boomers (30%) andone in four Hispanic boomers (26%).Roughly three in 10 white (29%) andeven more Hispanic (34%) boomerssay they are better off than expected,compared to two in 10 AfricanAmerican boomers (21%).


77



Boomers’ Current Status andHopes for Future by Race/Ethnicity

African American boomers hope for

larger gains in most areas than white or

Hispanic boomers, especially in their

finances, religious life, work or career,

and physical health. If all three groups

achieve their goals, five years from now

each life area would be rated higher by

African Americans than it would for

either white or Hispanic boomers.

Personal Finances

For African American boomers, finances

tops the list of areas in which they hope

to make the biggest gains. For white

and Hispanic boomers, personal

finances is in second place behind

leisure activities for the greatest gains.

• On average, African Americanboomers hope for a 2.8-pointincrease in their financial situationin the next five years. This is sub-stantially more of a gain than eitherwhite (1.6 points) or Hispanic (1.6points) boomers hope for.

• African American boomers see theirfinances in a worse light than otherboomers and aspire to a higherfinancial level. When considering the state of their finances, AfricanAmericans (5.5) rate it lower thanwhites (6.3) and Hispanics (6.3). And when they rate what they realistically hope it will be in fiveyears, African Americans (8.3) set the bar higher than whites (7.9) orHispanics (7.9).

Work or Career

In their work or careers too, African

Americans hope for larger gains in the

next five years (1.4 points) than whites

(1.1 points) or Hispanics (0.7 points).

Work or career is another area in which

more African American than white or

Hispanic boomers report doing worse

than expected (see Table 48).

Leisure Activities

Leisure activities top the list of areas

with the biggest hoped-for gains for

white and Hispanic boomers.

• On a 0 to 10 scale, white and AfricanAmerican boomers realistically hopeto achieve an increase of 2.0 pointsin leisure activities over the next fiveyears. And Hispanic boomers hopefor a 1.8-point increase.

• Of the seven areas, white andHispanic boomers hope for morechange in this area than any of theothers.

Religious or Spiritual Life

Religious or spiritual life ranks third for

all three groups in hoped-for change

over the next five years.

• African American boomers’ rating(7.4) for their current situation ishigher than either whites (6.7) orHispanics (7.0). But still they want to see more growth over the next five years (1.6 points) than white or Hispanic boomers (1.3 points for both).

79

Table 50: Boomers’ Current Status and Hopes for Future By Race/Ethnicity

How would you rate your ______? Please use a scale that goes from 0 to 10; 10 is the top ofthe scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale.What is the best ______ you could realistically hope to have 5 years from now? Please usethe 0 to 10 scale, where 10 is the top of the scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale.

Desired TargetCurrent Rating in Change OverRating 5 Years Next 5 Years

Personal finances White 6.3 7.9 1.6African American 5.5 8.3 2.8Hispanic 6.3 7.9 1.6

Work or career* White 7.3 8.4 1.1African American 7.2 8.6 1.4Hispanic 7.6 8.3 0.7

Leisure activities White 5.5 7.5 2.0African American 6.0 8.0 2.0Hispanic 5.8 7.6 1.8

Religious or White 6.7 8.0 1.3spiritual life African American 7.4 9.0 1.6

Hispanic 7.0 8.3 1.3

Physical health White 6.9 7.9 1.0African American 7.2 8.5 1.3Hispanic 7.0 8.0 1.0

Relations with White 8.2 8.7 0.5family and African American 8.2 8.9 0.7friends Hispanic 8.1 8.7 0.6

Mental health White 8.2 8.9 0.7African American 8.5 9.0 0.5Hispanic 8.2 8.7 0.5

N=2083 adults ages 38 to 56 * Asked only of those employed either full- or part-timeN=738 white adults ages 38 to 56 N=610 white adults ages 38 to 56N=702 African American adults ages 38 to 56 N=521 African American adults ages 38 to 56N=643 Hispanic adults ages 38 to 56 N=484 Hispanic adults ages 38 to 56




Table 51: Boomers’ Likelihood of Reaching Goals by Race/Ethnicity


% who say they are very Africanlikely to achieve their goal White N American N Hispanic N

Mental health 67 731 77 689 71 627Relations with family and friends 68 721 76 692 70 629Religious or spiritual life 56 709 77 678 64 617Work or career** 57 594 66 507 65 462Personal finances 50 722 61 685 62 631Physical health 51 728 63 686 59 621Leisure activities 46 719 58 672 53 623

* Asked only of those who gave a desired rating of 1 to 10 for the corresponding life area** Asked only of those employed either full- or part-time

Physical Health

African Americans (1.3 points) are

looking forward to somewhat larger

gains in their physical health than

either whites (1.0 points) or Hispanics

(1.0 points).

• Nearly one in three of all boomerssay they are doing worse in theirphysical health than expected (see Table 4).

• This is the case even though AfricanAmerican (7.2) boomers currentlyrate their physical health slightlyhigher than white (6.9) or Hispanic(7.0) boomers.

Mental Health and Relations with Family and Friends

All three groups rate their mental

health and relationships with

family and friends relatively high

and anticipate smaller changes in

these areas.

Anticipated Problems/Barriers for White, AfricanAmerican and HispanicBoomers

Boomers Likelihood of Reaching Goals by Race/Ethnicity

African American boomers not only

hope to make greater strides forward

in many major life areas, but they are

more confident than whites or Hispanics

that these gains will occur.

More than other boomers, African

Americans are confident in reaching the

rating they “realistically hope” to achieve

in five years in the areas of religious or

spiritual life and mental health. Nearly

eight in 10 African American boomers say

it is very likely they will achieve their

desired rating in both areas (religious or

spiritual life 77%, mental health 77%).

Fewer whites (religious or spiritual life

56%, mental health 67%) or Hispanics

81


(religious or spiritual life 64%, mental

health 71%) say the same.

African Americans are confident in

achieving their target goals in the other

areas as well. At least 60 percent of African

American boomers say they are very likely

to achieve their goals in their relation-

ships with family and friends (76%), work

or career (66%), physical health (63%),

and finances (61%). Only in the area of

leisure-time activities do somewhat

fewer, but still a majority of African

American boomers (58%), say it is very

likely they will achieve their target goal.

Hispanic boomers are as confident as

African American boomers in their ability

to reach their target goals in their work

or career (65%), their personal financial

situation (62%), their physical health

(59%), and their leisure activities (53%).

Across the board, white boomers voice

less confidence than African Americans

in the likelihood of reaching their target

goals, but Hispanic boomers are slightly

more confident than white boomers.

Fewer whites than Hispanics say it is

very likely they will achieve their target

goals in the areas of work or career

(57% vs. 65%), finances (50% vs. 62%),

religious or spiritual life (56% vs. 64%),

physical health (51% vs. 59%), and

leisure activities (46% vs. 53%).

What all three groups share to varying

degrees is less confidence in their ability

to reach their targeted goals in leisure

time, finances, and physical health. Fewer

boomers in each of the three groups say

they are very likely to achieve their goals

in these areas compared to the other life

areas. As with boomers overall, leisure

activities and finances are areas where

some of the greatest strides are hoped for

(see Table 16), yet confidence in achieving

them is the lowest (see Table 26).

Major Barriers for Boomers byRace/Ethnicity

The barriers boomers face in accom-

plishing their goals are largely the same

Table 52: Major Barriers for Boomers by Race/Ethnicity



Unmotivated/Lazy/Self 17 20 12Personal finances 16 17 13Health (physical or mental) 7 7 10Situations with family or friends 7 6 7Lack of time 5 4 4Education 2 2 3Work or career situation 3 2 2Age 1 * 1Nothing 34 34 41N=2083 adults ages 38 to 56 N=738 N=702 N=643



Table 53: Boomers’ Thoughts About Life Areas by Race/Ethnicity

In the last month, how much have you thought about ______? Have you thought about it a great deal, a fair amount, not too much, or not at all?

% who say they havethought ‘a great deal’ aboutlife area in last month White African American Hispanic

Relations with family and friends 57 65 58Personal finances 44 67 53Work or career* 45 60 48Religious or spiritual life 40 70 55Physical health 37 63 48Leisure activities 25 30 26Mental health 19 38 33N=2083 adults ages 38 to 56 N=738 N=702 N=643


regardless of race or ethnic background.

When asked what is keeping them

from achieving what they really want

out of life, all three groups often say

“themselves,” finances, or their health.

The most common response, however,

is “nothing.”

The only area of departure occurs for

Hispanic boomers. Hispanic boomers

(12%) are less likely than white (17%)

or African American (20%) boomers to

blame themselves for not accomplishing

goals. Hispanic boomers (41%) are more

likely than others (white 34%, African

American 34%) to say that nothing is

keeping them from achieving what

they want out of life.

Planning the Future forWhite, African Americanand Hispanic Boomers

Boomers’ Thoughts About LifeAreas by Race/Ethnicity

Perhaps one reason African Americans

have more confidence in their likelihood

of reaching their goals than whites

(and to a lesser extent, Hispanics) is

their focus on these major life areas.

Across the board, more African American

boomers than white boomers have

thought a great deal about each life

area. Likewise they have more often

than Hispanics thought about all but

two life areas—leisure activities and

mental health.

83

In every life area, but particularly

with religion, work, finances, physical

health, and relationships with family

and friends, a notably large percentage

of African Americans say they have

given it a great deal of thought in the

last month.

• Religious or spiritual life (70%),finances (67%), and relationshipswith family and friends (65%) topthe list for African American boomers.

• Nearly as many African Americanboomers say they have thought a great deal about their physicalhealth (63%) and work (60%) in the last month.

• Areas of least focus for AfricanAmerican boomers were mentalhealth (38%) and leisure activities (30%).

Similar patterns prevail among

Hispanic boomers, although with a

somewhat lower level of focus than

among African American boomers.

• A majority of Hispanic boomersreport having thought a great dealabout their relationships with familyand friends (58%), religious or

spiritual life (55%), and finances(53%) in the last month.

• And nearly as many Hispanicboomers report these high levels of focus on their work (48%) andphysical health (48%).

• Of lesser focus among Hispanicboomers, like boomers overall, is their mental health (33%) andleisure activities (26%).

There is only one area that a majority

of white boomers says they have

given a great deal of thought to, and

that is relationships with family and

friends (57%).

• After family and friends, fewer thanhalf say they have given a great dealof thought to work (45%), finances(44%), and religious life (40%).

• Even fewer white boomers say theyhave thought a great deal about their physical health (37%), leisureactivities (25%), or mental health(19%) in the last month.


Attitudes toward the Future andControl Over the Future byRace/Ethnicity

White boomers stand in contrast to


boomers in their attitudes toward

planning and the future. Overall, white

boomers report lower levels of planning

and determination to be in charge of

their fate than African American and

Hispanic boomers.

• Fewer white (36%) than AfricanAmerican (54%) or Hispanic (47%)boomers say they plan a lot for their future. This is consistent withthe finding that African Americanboomers more often report thinkingabout various life areas than whiteand Hispanic boomers (see Table 52).

• More African American boomers(75%) express greater confidence intheir ability to achieve what they settheir mind to do than white (63%)and Hispanic (70%) boomers.

• African American (77%) andHispanic (74%) boomers are morelikely than white (67%) boomers tostrongly feel that they are largelyresponsible for what happens intheir future.

• At the same time, for a small butnotable group of African American(19%) and Hispanic (22%) boomers,there is a feeling that there is littlethey can do to change the importantthings in their life. Fewer whiteboomers voice this view (7%).



Table 54: Boomers’ Attitudes toward the Future and Control Over theFuture by Race/Ethnicity

Please tell me if you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement?

% who strongly agree White African American Hispanic

I plan a lot for my future 36 54 47When I really want to do something,

I usually find a way to succeed at it 63 75 70What happens to me in the future

mostly depends on me 67 77 74There is little I can do to change

important things in my life 7 19 22N=2083 adults ages 38 to 56 N=738 N=702 N=643

Appendix A: Methodological Report for National Survey

Boomers at Midlife

Prepared by Princeton Survey Research Associates for AARP

November 2002

Summary

The Boomers at Midlife survey, sponsored by AARP, conducted telephone interviews

with a nationally representative sample of 3,666 adults living in the continental

United States. Interviews were completed in both English and Spanish, according

to the preference of the respondent. The interviews were conducted by Princeton

Data Source, LLC (a subsidiary of Princeton Survey Research Associates located in

Fredericksburg, Virginia) during the period of April 11 through June 15, 2002. Quotas

were set by age to ensure sufficient interviews among boomers2 for statistical analysis.

Results are weighted to correct for oversampling and to make the final total sample

results representative of all adults living in the continental U.S. The margin of

sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is ±2 percent.

Details on the design, execution and analysis of the survey are discussed below.

Design and Data Collection Procedures

Sample Design

The sample was designed to generalize to the U.S. adult population, and to allow

separate analyses of boomers overall, and African-American and Hispanic boomers.

To oversample boomers, PSRA screened standard list-assisted random digit dial

(RDD) sample. To oversample minority groups, PSRA supplemented the RDD

sample with prescreened sample of African-American and Hispanic households.

RDD Sample

The RDD telephone sample was provided by Survey Sampling, Inc. (SSI) according

to PSRA specifications. To draw this sample, every active block of telephone numbers

(area code + exchange + two-digit block number) that contained three or more

residential directory listings is equally likely to be selected; after block selection, phone

numbers are randomly generated in proportion to the number of listed households

in each block. This method guarantees coverage of every assigned phone number

regardless of whether that number is directory listed, purposely unlisted, or too new

to be listed. After selection, the numbers are compared against business directories

and matching numbers are purged. The RDD sample yielded 1,647 interviews.


85

2 For this survey, boomers are those born between 1946 and 1964.

Pre-screened Sample

To supplement the RDD interviews, an additional 2,019 interviews were completed

from minority households identified in the PDS Demographic Tracking Omnibus

Survey. This short 10 minute demographic survey asked a number of questions about

individual demographics and household composition. Sample for the original

Demographic Tracking survey was drawn using the same RDD sampling as described

above. Households were originally contacted between January 18, 2001 and June 9, 2002.

Questionnaire Development and Testing

The questionnaire was developed by PSRA in collaboration with AARP. The question-

naire was pretested twice with a small number of respondents from an RDD sample.

Pretest interviews were monitored by PSRA and AARP staff and conducted using

experienced interviewers who could best judge the quality of the answers given and

the degree to which respondents understood the questions. Some final changes

were made to question wording and order based on the monitored pretest interviews.

The final questionnaire was translated into Spanish by Princeton Data Source. All

interviews, both English and Spanish, were conducted using a fully-programmed

CATI instrument.

Contact Procedures

Interviews were conducted during the period April 11 through June 15, 2002. As

many as five attempts were made to contact a person at every sampled telephone

number. Sample was released for interviewing in replicates, which are representative

subsamples of the larger sample. Using replicates to control the release of sample

ensures that complete call procedures are followed for the entire sample and that

the geographic distribution of numbers called is appropriate.

Calls were staggered over times of day and days of the week to maximize the

chance of making contact with potential respondents. Each household received at

least one daytime call in an attempt to find someone at home.

Weighting and Analysis

Weighting is generally used in survey analysis to adjust for sample design effects and

to compensate for patterns of non-response that might bias results. The weighting

for this project was accomplished in two stages; a first stage to adjust demographic

distortions due to non-response and age screening, and a second stage to put the

various racial/ethnic groups back into their proper proportions and to make the

final weighted n equal to the final unweighted n for the total sample.




87

Table1: Total Sample Demographics

Parameter Weighted

Gender Male 47.9 46.9Female 52.1 53.1

Age 18–37 37.5 36.538–43 13.3 13.644–49 12.3 12.750–56 11.4 11.757+ 25.5 25.5

Education Less than HS 15.8 14.3HS graduate 36.3 36.8Some college 23.5 24.1College graduate 24.4 24.9

Marital Status Married 58.0 58.3Not married 42.0 41.7

Race/Ethnicity White, not Hispanic 74.1 73.8Black, not Hispanic 11.1 11.1Hispanic 10.4 10.3Other, not Hispanic 4.5 4.5

Region Northeast 19.6 19.2Midwest 23.1 23.7South 35.2 35.0West 22.2 22.1

First Stage—Demographic Adjustment

In the first weighting stage, the demographic composition of each racial/ethnic

subsample was weighted to match national parameters for sex by age, sex by

education, age by education, marital status and census region. These parameters

came from a special analysis of the March 2001 Current Population Survey (CPS)

that included all telephone households in the continental United States.

This stage of weighting was accomplished using Sample Balancing, a special iterative

sample weighting program that simultaneously balances the distributions of all

variables using a statistical technique called the Deming Algorithm. This weighting

adjusts for non-response that is related to particular demographic characteristics of

the sample and ensures that the demographic characteristics of each race/ethnic

group's sample closely approximate the demographic characteristics of that group

nationwide. Weights from this stage were trimmed to prevent individual interviews

from having too much influence on the final results. Table 1 compares weighted

sample distributions to population parameters.



Table 2: Final Adjustment Factor

% AfterFirst-Stage Population

Weight Parameter Adjustment

Race/Ethnicity White, not Hispanic 23.84 74.05 3.106Black, not Hispanic 30.96 11.11 0.359Hispanic 43.88 10.37 0.236Other, not Hispanic 1.32 4.47 3.375

Second Stage—Final Adjustment to Racial/Ethnic Groups

The second and final stage of weighting adjusted the racial/ethnic distribution of

the entire sample to match the distribution of the U.S. adult population. The final

weight is the product of this adjustment factor and the weight after the first stage.

Table 2 outlines the computation of the final weighting adjustment factor. Cases

where the respondent refused to give their race were given an adjustment of 1.00.

A final adjustment was made to make weighted and unweighted total sample counts

equal. Tables 3–5 in the Appendix compare weighted and parameter distributions

for major racial and ethnic subgroups.


89

Table 3: African-American Sample Demographics

Parameter Weighted


Age 18–37 43.8 42.138–43 14.0 14.444–49 12.4 12.950–56 10.1 10.657+ 19.7 20.1



Race/Ethnicity White, not Hispanic NA NABlack, not Hispanic NA NAHispanic NA NAOther, not Hispanic NA NA




Table 4: Hispanic Sample Demographics

Parameter Weighted


Age 18–37 52.1 49.138–43 13.3 14.244–49 10.2 11.050–56 9.1 9.657+ 15.2 16.1






91

Table 5: White/Other Race Sample Demographics

Parameter Weighted


Age 18–37 34.7 34.138–43 13.2 13.444–49 12.6 12.950–56 11.9 12.257+ 27.7 27.4





( )

Effects of Sample Design on Statistical Inference

Specialized sampling designs and post-data collection statistical adjustments

require analysis procedures that reflect departures from simple random sampling.

PSRA calculates the effects of these design features so that an appropriate adjust-

ment can be incorporated into tests of statistical significance when using these

data. The so-called “design effect” or deff represents the loss in statistical efficiency

that results from a disproportional sample design and systematic non-response.

PSRA calculates the composite design effect for a sample of size n, with each case

having a weight, wi as:

In a wide range of situations, the adjusted standard error of a statistic should be

calculated by multiplying the usual formula by the square root of the design effect

( deff ). Thus, the formula for computing the 95% confidence interval around a

percentage is:

where p is the sample estimate and n is the unweighted number of sample cases

in the group being considered.

The formula for computing the 95 percent confidence interval around the difference

between two percentages, p1 and p2, of sizes n1 and n2, is:

where p1 is the estimate of p1, p2 is the estimate of p2 , and deff1 and deff2 are the

design effects for each group.



deff =

n wi2

n

∑i =1

n wi

n

∑i =1

( )2

p+ deff x 1.96p(1-p)

n

deff1 p1(1-p1) deff2 p2(1-p2)n1

+n2

(p1–p2) + 1.96

ˆ

ˆ

ˆ

ˆ

ˆ

ˆ ˆ ˆ ˆ ˆ

ˆ ˆ


93

Table 6: Design Effects, Sample Sizes and Margins of Error

Number of Design MarginInterviews Effect of Error

Total 3666 2.38 2.4%

Age 18–37 781 1.90 4.8%38–43 708 1.90 5.1%44–49 717 1.93 5.1%50–56 702 1.95 5.2%57+ 758 2.25 5.3%

Gender Male 1413 2.20 3.9%Female 2253 2.46 3.2%

Education LT HS graduate 495 2.40 6.8%HS graduate 1323 2.41 4.2%Some college 879 2.38 5.1%College graduate 951 2.31 4.8%

Marital Status Married 1917 2.14 3.3%Not married 1726 2.72 3.9%

Race/Ethnicity White, not Hispanic 1241 1.31 3.2%Black, not Hispanic 1185 1.53 3.5%Hispanic 1161 1.63 3.7%

Region Northeast 578 2.17 6.0%Midwest 660 1.75 5.0%South 1508 2.68 4.1%West 920 2.70 5.3%

The survey’s margin of error is the largest 95% confidence interval for any estimated

proportion based on the total sample—one around 50%. For example, the margin

of error for the total sample is ±2.4%, this means that in 95 out every 100 samples

using the same methodology, estimated proportions based on the entire sample

will be no more than 2.4 percentage points away from their true values in the

population. It is important to remember that sampling fluctuations are only one

possible source of error in survey estimates. Other sources, such as measurement,

may contribute additional error of greater or lesser magnitude. Table 6 shows

design effects, sample sizes and margins of error for the total sample and selected

target subgroups.

Response Rate

Table 7 reports the disposition of all sampled telephone numbers from the RDD

sample. The response rate estimates the fraction of all eligible respondents in the

sample that were ultimately interviewed. At PSRA it is calculated by taking the

product of three component rates:3

• Contact rate—the proportion of working numbers where a request for interviewwas made—of 74.0 percent4

• Cooperation rate—the proportion of contacted numbers where a consent forinterview was initially obtained, versus those refused—of 53.2 percent

• Completion rate—the proportion of initially cooperating and eligible interviewsthat were completed—of 87.9 percent

Thus the response rate for the RDD portion of this survey is 34.6 percent.

Table 8 reports the disposition of all sampled telephone numbers from the

pre-screened African-American and Hispanic samples. These samples yielded

post-screening response rates of 42 percent for the African-American oversample

and 44 percent for the Hispanic oversample. Figures in these tables represent rates

after the pre-screening of eligible households. The response rate for the original

screening interview was approximately 33 percent.



3 PSRA's disposition codes and rate formulas are consistent with standards of the American Association for PublicOpinion Research.

4 We assume that 75 percent of cases that result in a constant disposition of "No answer" over ten or more attemptsare actually not working numbers.


95

Table 7: RDD Sample Disposition

Total numbers dialed 16636

Business 1497Computer/Fax 900Other not-working 2426Additional projected NW 1091

Working numbers 10722 64.4%

No answer 279Busy 86Answering machine 1112Callbacks 524Other non-contacts 787

Contacted numbers 7934 74.0%

Initial refusals 2222Second refusals 1489

Cooperating numbers 4224 53.2%

No adult in HH 41SO–Age quota 2274SO–Race unqualified 0Language barrier 35

Eligible numbers 1874 44.4%

Interrupted 227Completes 1647 87.9%

Response rate 34.6%



Table 8: Pre-Screened Sample Dispositions

African-American Hispanic

Total numbers dialed 4521 4475

Business 91 83Computer/Fax 73 60Other not-working 797 747Additional projected NW 157 31

Working numbers 3404 75.3% 3554 79.4%

No answer 45 6Busy 6 4Answering machine 330 98Callbacks 370 404Other non-contacts 265 431

Contacted numbers 2387 70.1% 2611 73.5%

Initial refusals 557 596Second refusals 271 359

Cooperating numbers 1558 65.3% 1655 63.4%

No adult in HH 17 14SO–Age quota 216 431SO–Race unqualified 179 143Language barrier 9 24

Eligible numbers 1137 73.0% 1043 63.0%

Interrupted 96 65Completes 1041 91.5% 978 93.8%

Response rate 41.9% 43.7%

Screener

Hello, my name is ________ and I’m calling for Princeton Survey Research. We're

conducting an important national opinion survey and we’d very much like to

include your household. This survey is for research purposes only, we're not trying

to sell you anything.

S1 Here’s my first question... How would you rate your neighborhood as a place

to live? Would you say it is excellent, good, fair or poor?

1 Excellent

2 Good

3 Fair

4 Poor

8 Don’t know

9 Refused

S2 To make sure our survey includes many different kinds of families, I need to

ask a few questions about who lives in your household. How many adults age

18 or older live in your household?

1 One

2 Two

3 Three

4 Four or more

5 None

98 Don’t know

99 Refused

IF ONLY ONE ADULT AGE 18+ IN HH (S2=1)S3. May I please speak to that person?

1 Continue with current respondent—GO TO Q12 New respondent being brought to phone—GO TO INTRO23 New respondent not available—SCHEDULE CALL BACK9 Refused

IF MORE THAN ONE ADULT AGE 18+ IN HH (S2=2, 3, 4)S4. How many people between 18 and 37 now live in your household?

1 One

2 Two or more

3 None

9 Don’t know/Refused


97

IF MORE THAN ONE ADULT AGE 18+ IN HH (S2=2, 3, 4)S5. How many people between 38 and 56 now live in your household?

1 One

2 Two or more

3 None


IF MORE THAN ONE ADULT AGE 18+ IN HH (S2=2, 3, 4)S6. How many people 57 or older now live in your household?

1 One

2 Two or more

3 None


IF ANSWERED REFUSED TO S4, S5, S6 (S4=9 AND S5=9 AND S6=9) CONF. Just to confirm, are you over the age of 18?

1 Yes—GO TO Q12 No—CODE AS A REFUSAL

IF ANSWERED NONE TO S4, S5, S6 (S4=3 AND S5=3 AND S6=3) S7. May I please speak to any person over the age of 18?

1 Continue with current respondent—GO TO Q12 New respondent being brought to phone—GO TO INTRO23 New respondent not available—SCHEDULE CALL BACK9 Refused—THANK AND TERMINATE

Instructions for prioritizing respondent to continue with interview1 Has at least one 38–56 yr old (S5=1, 2) [Skip to S8] First Priority2 Has at least one 57+ yr old (S6=1, 2) [Skip to S9] Second Priority3 Has at least one 18–37 yr old (S4=1, 2) [Skip to S10] Third Priority

IF ONE OR MORE ADULTS BETWEEN AGES 38 AND 56 (S5=1, 2)S8. May I please speak to the person between 38 and 56 years old?




IF ONE OR MORE ADULTS 57+ AND NO 38 TO 56 YEAR OLDS (S6=1, 2 AND S5=3)S9. May I please speak to the person 57 or older?


IF ONE OR MORE ADULTS BETWEEN AGES 18 AND 37 AND NO 38 TO 56 YEAROLDS AND NO 57+ (S4=1, 2 AND S5=3 AND S6=3)S10. May I please speak to the person between 18 and 37 years old?


IF S3=2 OR S7=2 OR S8=2 OR S9=2 OR S10=2INTRO2

Hello, my name is ________ and I’m calling for Princeton Survey Research. We’re

conducting an important national opinion survey and we’d very much like to

include your household. This survey is for research purposes only, we’re not trying

to sell you anything.


99



101

Appendix B: Annotated QuestionnaireBoomers at Midlife


6.24.2002

N=3666 Total Sample (Margin of Error +2%)

N=781 18–37 year olds (Margin of Error +5%)

N=2127 38–56 year olds (Margin of Error +3%)

N=758 57 and older (Margin of Error +5%)

Field: April 11, 2002–June 15, 2002

Q1 Overall, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in

this country today? BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

51 59 51 40 Satisfied39 33 41 46 Dissatisfied8 7 7 10 Don’t know1 1 1 3 Refused

Q2 And are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in your

own life today?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

85 86 83 88 Satisfied12 12 14 9 Dissatisfied2 1 2 2 Don’t know* * * 1 Refused

Appendix B: Annotated Questionnaire



Q3 What is the best thing about your life right now? BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

37 45 41 19 Family and friends13 12 11 18 Work/Career12 10 12 17 Overall good life/Being alive/Everything9 6 9 13 Health6 3 8 9 Religion3 3 3 4 Security/Peace/Stability/Freedom2 3 2 2 Home/House/Residential locale2 5 1 * Education2 2 1 4 Leisure2 2 2 2 Finances7 6 7 8 Nothing3 4 3 3 Other1 1 * 1 Don’t know* * * * Refused

Q4 What is the worst thing about your life right now?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

18 21 20 10 Finances11 12 13 4 Work/Career10 4 8 21 Health9 8 9 11 Family and Friends4 0 2 12 Aging3 3 4 3 Societal Concern2 2 3 1 Lack of time1 2 1 * Residential Locale

27 28 25 29 Nothing14 18 14 8 Other1 1 1 1 Don’t know1 1 1 1 Refused

Q5 In general, how often do you think about your future? Do you think about your future

often, sometimes, rarely or never?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

63 78 64 41 Often23 18 26 25 Sometimes9 3 7 20 Rarely4 1 2 12 Never1 1 1 2 Don’t know* * * * Refused


103

Q6 Five years from now, do you expect things in your life will be better, the

same or worse than they are right now?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

73 92 77 41 Better18 7 17 34 Same6 1 3 17 Worse3 1 2 8 Don’t know* 0 * 1 Refused

Q7 I am going to read you a list of statements. Please tell me if you strongly

agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree or strongly disagree with each

statement. (First|Next) (Insert).

List items were rotated

a I plan a lot for my future.BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

43 54 40 32 Strongly agree38 36 43 35 Somewhat agree12 7 13 16 Somewhat disagree5 3 4 11 Strongly disagree1 0 1 4 Don’t know* 0 * 1 Refused

b There is little I can do to change important things in my life.BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

13 8 10 23 Strongly agree14 8 12 26 Somewhat agree22 23 23 20 Somewhat disagree49 61 54 26 Strongly disagree2 * 1 5 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused

c When I really want to do something, I usually find a way to succeed at it.BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

66 69 65 61 Strongly agree30 28 30 32 Somewhat agree2 2 3 2 Somewhat disagree1 1 1 2 Strongly disagree1 * * 3 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused



d What happens to me in the future mostly depends on me.BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

67 76 68 53 Strongly agree22 17 20 31 Somewhat agree5 4 6 5 Somewhat disagree4 3 5 7 Strongly disagree1 * 1 3 Don’t know* 0 * 1 Refused

e I would rather be spontaneous than plan my future in detail.BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

19 18 17 24 Strongly agree30 28 28 35 Somewhat agree28 32 29 21 Somewhat disagree20 21 23 13 Strongly disagree3 2 2 6 Don’t know* * * 1 Refused

f At this point in my life, I’ve done all the planning I need to do.BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

14 7 10 31 Strongly agree23 22 20 30 Somewhat agree31 34 35 20 Somewhat disagree31 37 34 17 Strongly disagree1 * 1 1 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused


105

Q8 What one major ambition or dream would you like to accomplish over the

next five years? BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

24 29 29 12 Finances18 19 23 9 Work/Career11 12 11 8 Family and Friends9 19 6 2 Education9 3 4 24 Health5 3 5 7 Leisure3 2 4 4 Self Improvement/New Lifestyle or Perspective1 * 1 2 Religion1 0 * 2 Societal Concern

12 7 11 22 Don’t have one/Already accomplished5 3 5 7 Other1 2 1 2 Don’t know* * * * Refused

D1A Which of the following best describes your current employment status—employed,

self-employed, retired and not working, are you not in the labor force, or are you

unemployed and looking for work?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

54 64 67 17 Employed10 10 13 6 Self-employed19 1 3 68 Retired and not working9 10 10 4 Not in the labor force8 14 6 4 Unemployed and looking for work* * * * Don’t know* * * * Refused

D1B Is this part-time or full-time?

Based on those who are employed or self employedBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

17 20 13 24 Part-time83 80 86 76 Full-time* * * 0 Don’t know0 0 0 0 Refused

N=2420 572 1646 202



D1C Have you retired from a previous career?


Total 18–37 38–56 57+

9 3 10 31 Yes91 97 89 69 No* 0 * 0 Don’t know* 0 * 0 Refused

N=2420 572 1646 202

Q9 In the last month, how much have you thought about (Insert)? Have you

thought about it a great deal, a fair amount, not too much, or not at all?


a your personal financial situationBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

47 62 47 25 A great deal33 26 36 38 A fair amount15 9 14 24 Not too much4 2 3 10 Not at all* 0 * 2 Don’t know* * * * Refused

b your physical healthBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

41 41 41 40 A great deal37 36 38 37 A fair amount17 18 16 16 Not too much5 5 5 5 Not at all* 0 * 1 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused

c your mental healthBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

22 21 23 22 A great deal23 22 23 23 A fair amount30 29 33 26 Not too much24 26 20 28 Not at all1 1 1 2 Don’t know* * * 0 Refused


107

d your work or career


Total 18–37 38–56 57+

49 57 46 29 A great deal33 31 34 39 A fair amount13 8 16 21 Not too much4 3 3 10 Not at all* 0 * 0 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused

N=2420 572 1646 202

e your personal relationships with family and friendsBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

57 57 58 55 A great deal30 31 30 28 A fair amount9 9 9 10 Not too much3 3 2 5 Not at all1 * * 2 Don’t know* * * * Refused

f your religious or spiritual lifeBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

45 36 45 56 A great deal28 31 29 21 A fair amount18 19 17 16 Not too much9 13 8 6 Not at all1 1 * 1 Don’t know* * * * Refused

g your leisure activitiesBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

28 30 26 29 A great deal40 41 41 37 A fair amount23 22 27 19 Not too much8 6 5 14 Not at all1 1 1 2 Don’t know* * * 0 Refused



Q10 Overall, how satisfied are you with your (Insert). Are you very satisfied,

somewhat satisfied, not too satisfied or not at all satisfied?


a personal financial situationBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

23 19 20 35 Very satisfied52 51 54 50 Somewhat satisfied15 18 15 9 Not too satisfied10 12 10 5 Not at all satisfied* * * 1 Don’t know* * * 1 Refused

b physical healthBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

34 35 31 38 Very satisfied48 48 52 42 Somewhat satisfied11 12 11 12 Not too satisfied6 4 6 8 Not at all satisfied* * * * Don’t know* * * * Refused

c mental healthBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

61 61 61 63 Very satisfied32 32 33 30 Somewhat satisfied3 3 4 3 Not too satisfied2 3 2 2 Not at all satisfied1 * 1 2 Don’t know* * * 0 Refused

d work or career


Total 18–37 38–56 57+

38 34 39 50 Very satisfied48 48 48 44 Somewhat satisfied9 10 9 3 Not too satisfied5 8 3 3 Not at all satisfied* 1 * * Don’t know0 0 0 0 Refused

N=2420 572 1646 202


109

e personal relationships with family and friendsBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

63 57 63 74 Very satisfied31 37 33 22 Somewhat satisfied3 4 3 3 Not too satisfied1 2 1 1 Not at all satisfied1 * * 1 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused

f religious or spiritual lifeBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

46 34 47 60 Very satisfied43 50 43 32 Somewhat satisfied6 8 6 5 Not too satisfied3 6 2 2 Not at all satisfied2 2 2 1 Don’t know* * * * Refused

g leisure activitiesBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

35 33 29 47 Very satisfied49 50 52 41 Somewhat satisfied10 10 12 6 Not too satisfied5 6 5 4 Not at all satisfied1 1 1 1 Don’t know* 0 * 1 Refused



Q11A Which one of these areas is most important to you?

Responses were read

Respondents who are employed or self employed were asked about work

or career (N=2420, 572, 1646, 202)BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

6 9 6 4 Your personal financial situation19 12 19 30 Your physical health4 5 3 3 Your mental health3 4 2 1 Your work or career

41 48 44 26 Your personal relationships with family and friends23 19 22 29 Your religious or spiritual life or1 2 1 2 Your leisure activities3 1 3 4 Don’t know* * * * Refused

Q11B And which is second most important to you?

Responses were read as needed



Total 18–37 38–56 57+

15 17 16 12 Your personal financial situation17 15 18 17 Your physical health7 5 6 9 Your mental health8 12 10 1 Your work or career

34 32 33 38 Your personal relationships with family and friends15 16 15 15 Your religious or spiritual life or3 3 3 4 Your leisure activities1 1 * 4 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused


111

Q12 Which one of all the life areas we have been talking about would you

most like to change?

Responses were read



Total 18–37 38–56 57+

34 40 35 24 Your personal financial situation19 14 17 27 Your physical health2 2 1 2 Your mental health

12 16 14 2 Your work or career7 7 6 7 Your personal relationships with family and friends8 9 8 7 Your religious or spiritual life or9 7 10 8 Your leisure activities9 4 7 20 Don’t know2 * 1 4 Refused

Life area sections were rotated

Q13A Turning to the subject of finances, how would you rate your personal financial

situation today. Please use a scale that goes from 0 to 10, 10 is the top of the scale

and 0 is the bottom of the scale.BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

6.20 5.87 6.19 6.67 Mean2 2 3 2 0 – bottom of the scale1 1 1 1 13 4 4 2 24 5 4 2 37 10 5 5 4

19 20 18 20 513 14 14 9 621 22 24 17 718 13 19 22 84 3 4 6 96 4 5 11 10 – top of the scale1 1 1 3 Don’t know1 1 * 1 Refused



Q13B Would you say you are in a better financial situation than you expected to

be at this point in your life, in a worse financial situation than you expected

or are you about where you expected to be at this point in your life?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

29 25 29 37 Better27 31 31 16 Worse41 43 39 43 Where expected1 1 1 2 Don’t know1 1 * 1 Refused

Q13C Given your current personal financial situation, what is the best financial

position you could realistically hope to have 5 years from now? Please use the

0 to 10 scale where 10 is the top of the scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale.BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

7.89 8.30 7.98 7.09 Mean1 0 * 2 0 – bottom of the scale* 0 * * 11 * * 2 21 * * 2 31 * 1 1 48 4 6 16 56 3 6 9 6

15 16 16 12 730 32 32 24 814 18 15 8 921 25 20 15 10 – top of the scale3 2 2 7 Don’t know1 0 1 2 Refused

Q13D How likely are you to achieve this goal—very likely, somewhat likely, not

too likely or not at all likely?

Based on those with hopes that were 1 or greaterBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

56 64 53 50 Very likely38 34 43 38 Somewhat likely3 2 3 5 Not too likely1 * 1 4 Not at all likely1 * 1 2 Don’t know* 0 * 1 Refused

N=3521 767 2081 673


113

Q14 Still thinking about financial matters, are you now saving or investing any

money on a regular basis?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

68 69 73 59 Yes30 30 26 37 No* 1 * 1 Don’t know1 * * 3 Refused

Q15A And now thinking about your personal relationships with family and

friends. Using a scale from 0 to 10, how would you rate your personal rela-

tionships with family and friends today. 10 is the top of the scale and 0 is

the bottom of the scale.BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

8.25 8.01 8.17 8.74 Mean* 1 * 1 0 – bottom of the scale* * * * 1* 1 * * 21 2 1 * 31 1 2 * 46 7 6 4 54 4 6 3 6

13 16 13 9 723 24 26 19 819 20 20 18 930 25 26 44 10 – top of the scale1 * * 2 Don’t know* * 1 * Refused

Q15B Would you say that personal relationships with family and friends are

currently better than you expected them to be at this point in your life, are

these relationships worse than you expected or are you about where you

expected to be at this point in your life?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

27 33 26 19 Better12 15 12 7 Worse60 51 61 70 Where expected2 * 1 3 Don’t know* * 1 * Refused



Q15C Given your current personal relationships with family and friends, what is

the best situation you could realistically hope to be in 5 years from now in

terms of your personal relationships with family and friends? Please use the

0 to 10 scale where 10 is the top of the scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale. BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

8.77 8.89 8.75 8.61 Mean* * * * 0 – bottom of the scale* 0 * * 1* * * 0 2* 0 * 0 3* * * 1 43 2 2 6 53 4 2 4 67 6 8 7 7

22 19 25 22 819 22 20 13 942 45 39 41 10 – top of the scale2 1 2 5 Don’t know1 * 1 1 Refused




Total 18–37 38–56 57+

69 68 69 68 Very likely27 29 28 22 Somewhat likely2 1 1 4 Not too likely1 1 * 2 Not at all likely1 1 1 3 Don’t know* 0 0 * Refused

N=3552 765 2084 703


115

Q16 Which of the following changes have you experienced? Have you ever (Insert)?

a gotten married for the first timeBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

78 57 88 95 Yes21 43 12 5 No* * * * Don’t know* * 0 0 Refused

b become a parent for the first timeBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

75 56 83 90 Yes25 44 17 10 No* * * * Don’t know0 0 0 0 Refused

Item c based on those who have married

c gotten a divorce BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

33 27 40 27 Yes67 73 60 72 No* * * 0 Don’t know* 0 0 * Refused

N=2860 421 1747 692

Item d based on those who have married

d gotten remarriedBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

23 12 29 23 Yes77 88 71 77 No0 0 0 0 Don’t know0 0 0 0 Refused

N=2860 421 1747 692



Item e based on those who have become a parent

e had your last child move out of the houseBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

41 5 31 86 Yes59 95 69 14 No* 0 * * Don’t know* 0 0 * Refused

N=2871 453 1758 660

Item f based on those who have married

f had a spouse dieBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

11 2 5 29 Yes88 98 95 70 No* * 1 * Don’t know0 0 0 0 Refused

N=2860 421 1747 692

Item g based on those who have become a parent

g become a grandparentBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

43 3 35 91 Yes57 97 65 9 No* 0 * 0 Don’t know0 0 0 0 Refused

N=2871 453 1758 660

Item h based on those who have become a parent

h had an adult child move back homeBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

22 1 26 34 Yes78 99 74 66 No* 0 * * Don’t know* 0 * 0 Refused

N=2871 453 1758 660


117

i moved back into your parents’ homeBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+


Item j based on those who have become a parent

j provided child care or daycare to a grandchild on a regular basisBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

15 3 14 26 Yes85 97 86 73 No* 0 * 1 Don’t know0 0 0 0 Refused

N=2871 453 1758 660

k had your father dieBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

48 16 49 93 Yes51 82 51 7 No1 1 * * Don’t know* * 0 0 Refused

l had your mother dieBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

36 7 30 86 Yes64 92 70 14 No* * * * Don’t know* * 0 0 Refused



Q17A Turning to the subject of your religious or spiritual life. Using a scale from

0 to 10, how would you rate your religious or spiritual life today. 10 is the

top of the scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale.BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+


15 17 14 14 512 14 12 7 614 14 17 10 717 15 19 17 89 6 9 15 9

15 10 15 23 10 – top of the scale1 1 1 3 Don’t know* * * * Refused

Q17B Would you say your religious or spiritual life is better than you expected it

to be at this point in your life, worse than you expected or are you where

you expected to be at this point in your life?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

24 21 26 26 Better18 26 17 8 Worse55 51 54 61 Where expected3 2 3 3 Don’t know1 1 * 1 Refused


119

Q17C Given your current religious or spiritual life, what is the best religious or

spiritual condition you could realistically hope to be in 5 years from now?

Please use the 0 to 10 scale where 10 is the top of the scale and 0 is the bot-

tom of the scale. BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

8.10 8.01 8.16 8.16 Mean1 1 2 1 0 – bottom of the scale* * * 1 11 1 1 * 21 2 1 1 31 1 1 1 48 7 7 9 54 3 4 3 6

10 11 9 10 722 25 22 18 813 12 14 12 935 32 35 36 10 – top of the scale4 3 2 7 Don’t know* * 1 1 Refused




Total 18–37 38–56 57+

59 53 60 66 Very likely36 40 37 28 Somewhat likely3 4 2 3 Not too likely2 2 1 2 Not at all likely1 * * 1 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused

N=3487 751 2044 692



Q18A Turning to the subject of physical health. Using a scale from 0 to 10, how

would you rate your overall physical health today. 10 is the top of the scale

and 0 is the bottom of the scale.BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

7.05 7.13 6.94 7.08 Mean1 * 1 1 0 – bottom of the scale* * 1 1 11 1 1 1 22 2 3 1 34 2 5 5 4

13 12 13 15 511 14 10 9 622 23 24 17 724 23 24 25 811 13 10 11 910 9 9 12 10 – top of the scale1 * * 2 Don’t know* 0 * 0 Refused

Q18B Would you say you are in better physical health than you expected to be at

this point in your life, worse health than you expected or are you where you

expected to be at this point in your life?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

24 20 21 33 Better29 32 33 20 Worse45 48 44 42 Where expected2 1 1 5 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused


121

Q18C Given your current physical health, what is the best physical health you

could realistically hope to have 5 years from now? Please use the 0 to 10

scale where 10 is the top of the scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale. BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

8.09 8.60 8.00 7.43 Mean* * 1 1 0 – bottom of the scale* * * 0 11 * * 1 2* * 1 1 32 1 1 3 47 2 5 14 55 3 6 6 6

13 9 14 15 727 27 31 21 819 26 17 10 924 30 21 19 10 – top of the scale3 1 1 8 Don’t know* 0 * 1 Refused




Total 18–37 38–56 57+

52 53 53 50 Very likely40 41 40 38 Somewhat likely5 5 5 7 Not too likely1 1 1 2 Not at all likely1 * 1 4 Don’t know* 0 * 0 Refused

N=3532 771 2079 682



Q19 Now I'm going to read a list of things some people do to stay healthy.

Do you (Insert), or not?

Items were rotated

a exercise to stay fitBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

71 74 66 73 Yes29 26 34 26 No1 * 1 1 Don’t know0 0 0 0 Refused

b eat a balanced dietBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

67 58 69 78 Yes32 41 30 21 No1 * 1 1 Don’t know* 0 0 * Refused

c get routine health careBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

74 66 76 83 Yes25 34 23 17 No* 1 * * Don’t know0 0 0 0 Refused

d take vitaminsBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+



123

Q20 Which of the following changes have you experienced? Have you ever (Insert)?

Items were rotated

a experienced a mid-life crisisBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

20 10 24 27 Yes77 87 73 67 No4 3 3 5 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused

b survived a major illnessBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

29 19 29 46 Yes70 81 71 53 No1 1 * 1 Don’t know0 0 0 0 Refused

c made major changes in your diet due to a medical conditionBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

29 20 28 42 Yes71 80 71 58 No* 0 * * Don’t know* 0 * * Refused

Q21A Now thinking about the subject of mental health. Using a scale from 0 to

10, how would you rate your overall mental health today. 10 is the top of

the scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale.BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

8.31 8.25 8.25 8.48 Mean* * * 1 0 – bottom of the scale* 1 * * 1* * * * 21 1 1 * 32 2 1 1 45 5 5 5 55 5 4 4 6

10 10 12 7 727 25 29 26 819 20 20 18 931 31 27 36 10 – top of the scale* * * 1 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused



Q21B Would you say your mental health is better than you expected it to be at

this point in your life, worse than you expected or is your mental health

what you expected it to be at this point in your life?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

25 26 23 27 Better10 11 13 7 Worse62 61 62 62 Where expected3 2 2 4 Don’t know* * * * Refused

Q21C Given your current mental health, what is the best mental health you could

realistically hope to have 5 years from now? Please use the 0 to 10 scale

where 10 is the top of the scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale. BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

8.80 9.03 8.88 8.31 Mean* * * 1 0 – bottom of the scale* 1 * * 1* * * 0 2* * * * 3* * * * 43 1 2 8 52 1 2 5 66 5 6 8 7

22 20 22 25 821 22 24 14 942 49 42 32 10 – top of the scale2 1 1 6 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused




Total 18–37 38–56 57+

69 72 69 62 Very likely27 25 28 31 Somewhat likely2 2 2 3 Not too likely1 * * 1 Not at all likely1 * 1 3 Don’t know* 0 0 * Refused

N=3551 768 2089 694


125

Q22 How old would you say you feel? Do you feel younger than your age, older

than your age, or would you say you feel your age?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

51 36 58 60 Feel younger15 26 12 4 Feel older33 36 30 32 Feel your age1 1 1 3 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused

Q23A Now turning to the subject of your work or career. Using a scale from 0 to

10, how would you rate your work or career today. 10 is the top of the scale

and 0 is the bottom of the scale.


Total 18–37 38–56 57+

7.17 6.94 7.27 7.68 Mean1 2 1 1 0 – bottom of the scale* 1 * 0 11 2 1 0 22 2 2 * 33 3 3 4 4

12 14 10 15 511 11 12 5 620 22 20 13 722 19 26 19 810 9 10 11 915 13 15 27 10 – top of the scale1 1 * 4 Don’t know* * * 1 Refused

N=2420 572 1646 202

Q23B Would you say your work or career is better than you expected it to be at

this point in your life, worse than you expected or are you where you

expected to be at this point in your life?


Total 18–37 38–56 57+

33 33 34 34 Better25 26 26 12 Worse40 40 39 46 Where expected2 1 1 6 Don’t know* 1 * 2 Refused

N=2420 572 1646 202



Q23C Given your current work or career, what is the best work or career situation

you could realistically hope to have 5 years from now? Please use the 0 to

10 scale where 10 is the top of the scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale.


Total 18–37 38–56 57+

8.51 8.71 8.44 7.88 Mean1 * * 4 0 – bottom of the scale* 0 * 0 1* 0 * 0 2* * * 0 31 1 1 2 44 3 4 12 52 2 3 2 69 8 11 8 7

26 25 29 13 819 21 18 11 934 38 32 34 10 – top of the scale3 1 2 11 Don’t know1 * * 3 Refused

N=2420 572 1646 202



Based on those who are employed or self employed with hopes that were

1 or greaterBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

63 67 59 72 Very likely33 30 38 20 Somewhat likely2 2 2 6 Not too likely1 * 1 2 Not at all likely* * * 0 Don’t know* 0 0 * Refused

N=2324 562 1591 171


127

Q24 At what age do you expect to retire and not work at all?


Total 18–37 38–56 57+

* 1 0 0 18-301 3 * 0 31-40

11 17 7 1 41-5031 34 35 5 51-6036 29 39 57 61-702 2 2 5 71-802 2 1 4 Over 809 7 10 13 Never7 6 6 14 Don’t know* * * 2 Refused

N=2420 572 1646 202

Q25 Which of the following changes have you experienced? Have you

ever (Insert)?

Items were rotated

Based on those who are employed or self employed

a made a major career changeBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

46 41 51 49 Yes53 59 49 51 No* * * 0 Don’t know* * * 0 Refused

N=2420 572 1646 202

b lost your jobBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

33 29 36 37 Yes67 71 64 63 No* 0 * 0 Don’t know* * 0 0 Refused

N=2420 572 1646 202



Q26 If you had your choice, how long would you like to live? That is until what age?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

91.7 89.0 93.3 93.5 Mean* 1 * 0 30 and under* 1 * 0 31-401 2 * 0 41-502 3 1 1 51-605 7 5 2 61-70

20 19 23 18 71-8029 29 30 29 81-9018 18 20 16 91-1007 8 7 5 Over 1005 6 5 5 Forever

12 8 8 23 Don’t know1 1 1 3 Refused

Q27 If you had to guess, how long do you think you will live? That is until what age?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

84.4 83.9 81.3 91.2 Mean* 1 0 0 30 and under* 1 * 0 31-402 3 1 0 41-504 5 5 * 51-60

12 15 14 5 61-7028 25 33 23 71-8029 29 26 33 81-9010 10 9 10 91-1002 3 2 2 Over 100

13 8 10 25 Don’t know1 * * 2 Refused


129

Q28A And now thinking about the number of leisure activities you engage in as

well as the time you spend doing them—using a scale from 0 to 10, all in all

how would you rate the number of leisure activities and the time you spend

on them today. 10 is the top of the scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale.BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+


19 17 22 19 511 13 12 8 615 17 14 14 716 16 13 21 84 4 4 5 99 8 6 12 10 – top of the scale2 1 1 5 Don’t know* * * * Refused

Q28B Would you say that the number of leisure activities and time spent on them

is currently better than you expected at this point in your life, worse than

you expected or about where you expected at this point in your life?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

22 20 19 28 Better28 30 35 16 Worse48 49 44 52 Where expected2 1 2 3 Don’t know* * * * Refused



Q28C Given the number of leisure activities and the time you currently spend on

leisure activities, what is the best situation you could realistically hope to

be in 5 years from now? Please use the 0 to 10 scale where 10 is the top of

the scale and 0 is the bottom of the scale. BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

7.6 8.0 7.6 7.1 Mean1 * 1 1 0 – bottom of the scale* * * * 11 1 * 1 21 * 1 1 32 2 2 3 4

11 7 11 19 58 8 8 8 6

16 17 18 13 726 26 27 25 810 12 11 6 920 26 19 15 10 – top of the scale3 1 2 7 Don’t know* * * * Refused




Total 18–37 38–56 57+

51 52 48 51 Very likely43 44 46 37 Somewhat likely4 3 4 6 Not too likely1 1 1 2 Not at all likely1 * 1 3 Don’t know* 0 * * Refused

N=3501 760 2057 684


131

Q29 Now imagine you could be any age. What age would you like to be?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

32.8 24.1 32.6 46.3 Mean8 13 5 5 Less than 18

23 40 17 6 18-2424 28 27 12 25-3021 14 27 21 31-409 1 14 14 41-505 1 5 12 51-603 * 1 9 61-703 * * 11 71-801 * * 2 81-96* * * 1 97 or older2 2 1 5 Don’t know1 * * 2 Refused

Q30 All in all, how much control do you feel you have over your (Insert)—

a great deal, a fair amount, not too much or no control at all?


a personal financial situationBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

42 39 41 47 A great deal44 47 44 42 A fair amount9 10 10 5 Not too much4 3 4 5 No control at all1 1 * 1 Don’t know* * * * Refused

b physical healthBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

52 61 50 41 A great deal39 34 40 45 A fair amount6 4 7 8 Not too much3 2 3 4 No control at all1 * * 2 Don’t know* * * * Refused



c mental healthBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+


Item d based on those who are employed or self employed

d work or careerBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

47 48 45 56 A great deal43 42 46 40 A fair amount7 7 7 3 Not too much2 2 2 1 No control at all* 1 * * Don’t know* * * * Refused

N=2420 572 1646 202

e personal relationships with family and friendsBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

62 62 62 61 A great deal31 32 32 29 A fair amount4 4 4 4 Not too much2 1 1 4 No control at all1 * * 2 Don’t know* * * * Refused

f religious or spiritual lifeBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

68 64 69 70 A great deal26 27 25 23 A fair amount4 4 3 4 Not too much2 3 1 1 No control at all1 1 1 2 Don’t know* 1 * * Refused


133

g leisure activitiesBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+


Q31 When you think about the next 5 years how well does (Insert) describe

your feelings—very well, somewhat well, not too well or not at all well?


a BoringBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

10 7 9 17 Very well15 12 16 19 Somewhat well22 25 23 16 Not too well50 56 50 41 Not at all well2 1 2 5 Don’t know1 * * 2 Refused

b ExcitingBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

47 57 46 36 Very well40 37 42 41 Somewhat well8 4 8 14 Not too well3 2 3 5 Not at all well1 * 1 3 Don’t know* * * 1 Refused

c AnxiousBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

23 28 22 18 Very well36 37 34 38 Somewhat well18 16 20 19 Not too well20 19 22 20 Not at all well2 1 2 4 Don’t know* * * 1 Refused



d Fulfilling BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+


e ConfidentBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

58 61 55 57 Very well35 34 39 31 Somewhat well4 3 4 4 Not too well2 1 2 3 Not at all well1 * 1 4 Don’t know* * * * Refused

f UncertainBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+


g HopefulBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

65 72 64 57 Very well30 24 32 34 Somewhat well2 3 2 3 Not too well2 1 2 2 Not at all well1 * 1 3 Don’t know* * * 1 Refused


135

h StressfulBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

21 25 21 16 Very well41 42 45 34 Somewhat well18 17 18 20 Not too well17 15 15 25 Not at all well2 1 1 4 Don’t know* * * * Refused

Q32 What, if anything, is keeping you from achieving what you really want

out of life? BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

15 19 17 6 Unmotivated/Lazy/Self14 14 16 10 Finances8 3 7 16 Health6 7 7 3 Family and Friends4 6 4 2 Lack of time3 1 1 7 Age2 4 2 1 Education2 3 2 1 Work/Career7 9 6 5 Other

38 34 35 49 Nothing1 1 1 1 Don’t know* * * * Refused

D2 Record sexBOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

47 48 49 43 Male53 52 51 57 Female

D3 In what year were you born?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

25 0 0 100 1905-194512 0 31 0 1946-195213 0 33 0 1953-195814 0 36 0 1959-196437 100 0 0 1965-1984



D4 Counting yourself, how many adults 18 and older currently live in

your household?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

26 25 20 37 155 59 51 53 214 11 21 8 33 2 5 1 42 2 2 1 5 or more* * * * Refused

D5 And how many children under the age of 18 currently live in your household?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

59 43 50 95 Zero16 20 21 3 116 23 19 1 26 9 7 * 32 3 2 * 41 1 1 * 5 or more* * * 1 Refused

D6 In general, how would you describe your own health? Is it excellent, very

good, good, fair or poor?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

17 20 16 16 Excellent34 35 33 34 Very good30 30 32 27 Good15 14 14 17 Fair4 2 4 5 Poor* * * * Don’t know* 0 * * Refused

D7 Many Americans do not have health insurance. Are you now covered by

any form of health insurance or health plan, including any private health

insurance plan or a government program such as Medicare or Medicaid, or

do you not have health insurance at this time? BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

89 83 89 96 Yes, covered11 16 11 4 No, not covered* * * * Don’t know* * * * Refused


137

D8 Are you currently married, living with a partner, widowed, divorced, separated, or

have you never been married?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

58 44 70 60 Married6 11 4 3 Living with a partner7 * 2 23 Widowed9 6 12 8 Divorced3 5 2 2 Separated

17 34 9 3 Never been married1 * 1 1 Refused

D9 What is the last grade or class you completed in school?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

4 1 3 10 None, or grade 1-810 11 8 12 High school incomplete31 29 31 34 High school graduate 5 6 6 4 Business, technical or vocational school

after high school24 29 23 17 Some college, no four-year degree16 18 16 13 College graduate9 5 12 8 Post-graduate training or professional

schooling after college* 0 * * Don’t know* * * 1 Refused

D10 Are you yourself of Latino or Hispanic origin or descent, such as Mexican,

Puerto Rican, Cuban, or some other Latin American background?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

10 14 9 7 Yes89 86 90 93 No* * * * Don’t know* * * * Refused



D11 What is your race? (If Latino ask:) Are you white Latino, black Latino or some

other race? (Else:) Are you white, African American or black, Asian

or some other race?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

80 75 81 85 White/White Latino12 14 12 9 African American/Black/Black Latino2 3 1 * Asian6 7 5 5 Other* 1 * * Don’t know* * * * Refused

D12 Last year, that is in 2001, what was your total household income from all sources

before taxes? Was it over or under $25,000?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

22 24 14 31 Under $25,00067 66 78 50 Over $25,0005 5 3 6 Don’t know7 5 5 13 Refused

D13 Now just stop me when I get to the right category. Was your income ...

Responses were read

Based on those with an income less than $25,000BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

25 29 25 22 Less than $10,00024 28 23 20 $10,000 to under $15,00020 23 25 13 $15,000 to under $20,00023 18 21 31 $20,000 to under $25,0006 2 4 12 Don’t know2 * 3 2 Refused

N=942 219 433 290


139

D14 Now just stop me when I get to the right category. Was your income...

Responses were read

Based on those with an income more than $25,000BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

8 11 6 9 $25,000 to under $30,00012 17 8 11 $30,000 to under $35,00011 12 9 12 $35,000 to under $40,00013 12 13 14 $40,000 to under $50,00021 21 23 19 $50,000 to under $75,00028 22 34 24 $75,000 or more2 2 1 3 Don’t know5 3 5 8 Refused

N=2377 498 1541 338

D15 Finally, would you be willing to talk with a reporter about your opinions about

the issues in this survey?BOOMERS

Total 18–37 38–56 57+

30 32 35 19 Yes68 66 63 79 No2 2 2 2 Don’t know* * * * Refused



141

Critical Life Events by Generation

Which of the following changes have you experienced?

Boomers% who have... 18–37 N 38–56 N 57+ N

Gotten married for the first time 57 781 88 2127 95 758Become a parent for the first time 56 781 83 2127 90 758Gotten a divorce 27 421 40 1747 27 692Gotten remarried 12 421 29 1747 23 692Had your last child move out of the house 5 453 31 1758 86 660Had a spouse die 2 421 5 1747 29 692Become a grandparent 3 453 35 1758 91 660Had an adult child move back home 1 453 26 1758 34 660Moved back into your parents’ home 27 781 21 2127 9 758Provided child care or daycare to a

grandchild on a regular basis 3 453 14 1758 26 660Had your father die 16 781 49 2127 93 758Had your mother die 7 781 30 2127 86 758Experienced a mid-life crisis 10 781 24 2127 27 758Survived a major illness 19 781 29 2127 46 758Made major changes in your diet

due to a medical condition 20 781 28 2127 42 758Made a major career change 41 572 51 1646 49 202Lost your job 29 572 36 1646 37 202

* Asked only of those employed either full or part-time

Appendix C: Table of Critical Life Events

Boomers at Midlife


November 2002

Appendix C: Table of Critical Life Events



Appendix D: Methodological Report for Focus Groups

143


Boomers at Midlife


November 2002

AARP commissioned PSRA to conduct 12 focus group discussions to listen to how

boomers and older Americans talk about a number of life issues. These discus-

sions were designed to provide greater insights into several of the topics covered in

the national survey. We were particularly interested in hearing respondents talk

about how they interpreted the survey questions as well as the survey results.

The structure of the group discussion was straight-forward. Participants answered

several short survey questions and then discussed their interpretation of the ques-

tions and what they were thinking as they answered the questions. Participants

were then presented with the boomer and older adult national findings.

Participants were asked to comment on the national results and share their

thoughts about the answers given by people in their age group and those in the

other age group. This sequence of discussion revolved around four main topics:

• the importance of the seven life areas;

• satisfaction with the major life areas;

• control over the major life areas; and,

• near-term ambitions and barriers to achieving near-term goals.

The complete moderator’s guide to these discussions is located in Appendix C.

Focus group sessions were conducted in Baltimore, Maryland; Charlotte, North

Carolina; and Kansas City, Missouri. In each city, a total of four group discussions

were conducted over a span of two nights. Each night the first group discussion

took place at 6:00 p.m. with the older adults age 57 to 75, and the second group

usually started at 8:00 p.m. with the boomers. These groups of approximately 10

individuals comprised a mix of both male and female, and white, African

American, and Hispanic participants. All 12 sessions were conducted between July

17 and July 25, 2002 by Princeton Survey Research Associates. Exact dates and a

more complete demographic profile of the participants in each group follows.

Group 2

Respondents age 38–56July 17, 2002Baltimore, MD

Respondent Age Gender Employment Race/Ethnicity Income

Respondent #1 54 Female Employed black/African American 30–45k




Respondent #5 49 Female Employed white 45–70k

Respondent #6 50 Male Employed white 70k or more

Respondent #7 46 Male Employed black/African American 45–70k

Respondent #8 49 Male Employed white 45–70k

Respondent #9 56 Male Self-employed white 30–45k

Respondent #10 53 Male Self-employed black/African American 70k or more



Group 1





Respondent #3 65 Female Retired and not working black/African American 10–30k

Respondent #4 69 Male Retired and not working white 30–45k


Respondent #6 69 Female Retired and not working white 10–30k

Respondent #7 62 Female Retired and not working black/African American 70k or more


145

Group 3






Respondent #4 64 Female Not in the labor force black/African American 10–30k

Respondent #5 57 Female Retired and not working white 70k or more

Respondent #6 62 Male Retired and not working black/African American 45–70k


Respondent #8 69 Female Retired and not working white 10–30k



Respondent #11 69 Male Retired and not working black/African American 10–30k

Group 4









Respondent #7 38 Female Not in the labor force white 45–70k



Respondent #10 39 Female Employed black/African American 70k or more



Group 5

Respondents age 57–75July 22, 2002Charlotte, NC


Respondent #1 73 Male Retired white 70k or more


Respondent #3 67 Female Not in labor force white 70k or more

Respondent #4 74 Female Retired white Less than 10k


Respondent #6 72 Female Retired white 45–70k





Group 6





Respondent #3 49 Female Not in labor force white 10–30k

Respondent #4 42 Female Not in labor force white 30–45k






Respondent #10 45 Male Retired black/African American 45–70k


147

Group 7



Respondent #1 72 Female Retired black/African American Less than 10k





Respondent #6 72 Male Retired white 30–45k



Respondent #9 57 Female Employed white 70k or more

Respondent #10 57 Male Employed black/African American 70k or more

Group 8



Respondent #1 47 Male Employed white Less than 10k








Respondent #9 52 Female Not in the labor force white 70k or more




Group 9

Respondents age 57–75July 24, 2002Kansas City, MO


Respondent #1 58 Female Employed Hispanic 45–70k




Respondent #5 72 Male Retired black/African American 10–30k

Respondent #6 60 Male Not in the labor force black/African American 70k or more


Respondent #8 66 Female Retired white 70k or more

Respondent #9 58 Male Employed Hispanic 45–70k

Respondent #10 60 Female Employed Hispanic 70k or more

Group 10








Respondent #6 51 Female Employed white 70k or more

Respondent #7 44 Female Self-employed white 70k or more

Respondent #8 41 Male Employed Hispanic 70k or more


Respondent #10 44 Female Not in the labor force Hispanic 30–45k


149

Group 11



Respondent #1 66 Male Retired Hispanic 30–45k


Respondent #3 67 Female Not in the labor force black/African American 45–70k


Respondent #5 58 Male Self-employed black/African American 45–70k






Group 12






Respondent #4 43 Male Employed black/African American 70k or more





Respondent #9 44 Female Not in the labor force Hispanic 70k or more




Appendix E: Focus Group Moderator’s Guide

Boomers at Midlife


November 2002

Introduction

Hello my name is ___________ and I’ll be your moderator this evening. I work

with Princeton Survey Research Associates and we are an independent research

company based in New Jersey. We’re doing focus group interviews with people in

different parts of the country to help us better understand the answers 3,500 people

gave us in a national telephone survey we just completed about a month ago.

The survey was about people’s quality of life now and their expectations for the

future. Your job tonight is to help us analyze four questions that were asked in the

survey. We need you to help us interpret what the answers mean.

Here is how we’re going to do this. Over the next 1_ hours or so I’ll ask you to

answer four of the questions from the national survey. I will NOT collect your

answers or ask you to share them unless you want to do so. We’ll then discuss what

you think about the national results for the same questions you’ve answered.

Disclosures/Confidentiality: We’re audio-taping and videotaping our discussion

to help make sure we write an accurate report, and to share with the other

researchers involved with this project. Also, you may have noticed the one-way

mirror. A few people working with me on the project are observing from the

viewing room. Let me assure you that when we write our report, we do not

include your names: We report what was said, not who said it.

Guidelines: Because we’re taping, I may ask you to speak up occasionally or to

speak one person at a time, but otherwise we want plenty of discussion and

debate. We’re looking for different points of view. So even though I will be asking

questions, I encourage you to direct your comments to each other.

Permission/Thanks: If you need to use the bathroom just go, and help yourself to a

drink or snack. Thanks for being here!

Personal Instructions: Let’s start by you introducing yourselves. Please tell us your

first name and how long you have lived in the (Baltimore/Charlotte/Kansas City)

area. You might also want to tell us if you’re working, whether you’re married or

have any children. Who would like to start us off?

[Complete Personal Introductions]


151

Transition: In addition to doing focus groups, my company uses surveys to learn

more about people’s opinions and experiences. As I mentioned, last month we

finished a national survey that asked questions about people’s satisfaction with

their lives now and their hopes, dreams and goals for the future. We want to make

sure we understand what people are trying to tell us with their answers to the

survey, so we’re going around the country to hear from people like you, in plain

English, what these answers might mean.

This evening we’re going to talk about your reactions to four of the questions we

asked on the survey so we can better understand the answers to the questions.

We want your help in understanding the results from the national survey—what

you think they mean, whether these results surprise you, and if they do, why.

All the work that you put into thinking about these questions will be invaluable

to me and other researchers who have to write the report I mentioned earlier.

We can’t give an accurate account of what people across the country think without

your input tonight. So, this is your group. Even though I’ll be guiding the discussion,

feel free to direct your comments to one another, to ask one another to explain

their comments if you’re not sure what they mean, and to pipe up when you see

things in a different way from others around the table.



Section 1: Importance Of Life AreasTransition: Let’s begin with one of the questions about your life right now:

[Moderator distributes packet with questions and pencils. Again, explains that will

not collect the papers and instructs participants not to share or compare answers

with others. Reads list.]

[Moderator moves to easel]

I have here the same list of “life areas” that you have listed on the first page of your

packet. It is a list we asked about on our survey.

[Moderator reads items] Which one of these life areas is most important to you?

Just mark it on your sheet.

a personal financial situation

b physical health

c mental health

d work or career

e personal relationships with family and friends

f religious or spiritual life

g leisure activities

National Survey Results:

Now, let me tell you a little about how adults who answered our national survey

responded to this question. The survey included adults 18 and older. But tonight

we’re going to focus on people in two, specific age groups: 38–56 and 57 and older.

Turn to the second page in your packet. You can see that when we look at people’s

responses within these two age groups, we see an important difference. Americans

in mid-life, those age 38–56, are especially likely to say family and friends is most

important to them—more than 4 out of 10. But older Americans, those 57+, are

just as likely to say their physical health or their religious or spiritual life are most

important to them—about 3 out of 10 for each area.


153

What are your overall reactions to these results? What do you make of them?

• Do these results surprise you? In what way?

• Do they make sense to you? How so?

• How do the answers compare with your own answer to the question?If Necessary: What do you think made you answer differently from people yourown age in the survey?

Ask Younger Group: Try to think about where you expect you will be whenyou’re say about 65 or older. Do you expect you will place more emphasis onphysical health and religious life as you get older? What makes you think that?

Ask Older Group: Think back to when you were in the middle age group—38–56 years old. Do you remember placing more importance on relationshipswith family and friends? What are some of the reasons this was important atthat point in your life?

• Do you think you placed less emphasis on your physical health and religious or spiritual life?



*Section 2: Satisfaction With Life AreasTransition: Let’s move on to the next question. Again, I’m going to ask you to mark

your answers on the survey sheet as I read the question to you.

Please mark whether you are very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, not too satisfied or

not at all satisfied with each of these major life areas.

a personal financial situation

b physical health

c mental health

d work or career

e personal relationships with family and friends

f religious or spiritual life

g leisure activities


Now, let’s look at the results from our national survey.

Again, when we look at people’s responses within different age groups, we see con-

sistent differences between adults age 38–56 and those age 57+. Older adults are

more satisfied with practically every aspect of life we asked about in the survey.

(Mental health is the exception.)

What are your overall reactions to these results? What do you make of them?

• *Does it surprise you that older Americans are more satisfied than Americans inmid-life in nearly every area? Why/Why not?

Someone finish this sentence for me: That makes sense because __________.

• *What do you think are some of the reasons that so few people in mid-life arevery satisfied with their work, physical health or their finances?

• How do these results compare with your own answers?

If Necessary: What do you think made you answer differently from people yourown age in the survey?


155

Ask Younger Group: Again, try to think about where you expect you will be whenyou’re in that older age group, say 65 or so. Do you think you will be more satisfiedthan you are now with these aspects of your life? What makes you say that?

Now, let me run three ideas by you about why older people might be more

satisfied than people in mid-life. The first one is…:

1) **Older people have accomplished a lot of their life goals, e.g., own theirhomes, retired, put children through college, etc. To what extent do youthink this explains why older people are more satisfied?

2) **It’s older people’s attitude towards life. They’ve survived a lot and they arewiser than people in mid-life. To what extent do you think this explainswhy older people are more satisfied?

3) **Older people expect less and therefore express more satisfaction in theselife areas. What do you think of this explanation?

• So which of these do you think is the best explanation?

Ask Older Group: Think back to when you were in the middle age group—

38–56 years old. Do you remember being any less satisfied with these aspects

of your life than you are now? All? Which ones?

Now, let me run three ideas by you about why older people might be more

satisfied than people in midlife. The first one is…:

1) **Older people have accomplished a lot of their life goals, e.g., own theirhomes, retired, put children through college, etc. To what extent do youthink this explains why older people are more satisfied?

2) **It’s older people’s attitude towards life. They’ve survived a lot and they arewiser than people in mid-life. To what extent do you think this explainswhy older people are more satisfied?

3) **Older people expect less and therefore express more satisfaction in theselife areas. What do you think of this explanation?

• So which of these do you think is the best explanation?



Section 3: Control Over Life AreasTransition: Let’s look at these seven life areas again…

**Tell me, are some of these areas easier (you/for people your age) to control than

others? Which ones? What makes those areas easier to control?

• *Which of these areas are you most confident you can manage now?

• *Which of these areas are you least confident you can manage now?

Ask Younger Group: Again I want you to imagine your older self, you at 65 or

older. Which area do you think you’ll have the least control over at that point in

your life? Which one do you think you’ll have the most control over?

Ask Older Group: Again, think back to when you were in the middle age

group—38–56 years old. Which area did you have the least control over at that

point in your life? Which one did you have the most control over then?


157

Section 4: Discussion Of Ambitions And BarriersTransition: Okay, turn to the last set of questions in your packet. These two ques-

tions are a little different in that there aren’t any categories. I’ll read them and then

give you a few minutes to fill in your answers.

What one major ambition or dream would you like to accomplish over the next

five years?


Participant Responses:

Before we look at the national results, does anyone want to tell us how you

answered these two questions?


Now, let’s look at the results from our national survey.

[Moderator distributes results and reviews them by age group]

While the differences aren’t uniform, we see a few important differences by age

group—between adults age 38–56 and those age 57+. Many more younger adults

are have ambitions or dreams related to finances and work/career. Older adults,

on the other hand, are more likely to mention things related to health or to say

they have already accomplished their dreams. In terms of what stands in the way,

many adults in both age groups say “nothing.” But adults in the middle years are

much more likely to blame themselves, to say “me.”

What are your overall reactions to these results?

• **What do people mean when they say they are the biggest barrier to achievingwhat they want out of life? Probe: Does this mean people really think “myfuture is in my own hands” or “…under my control”?

• Why do you think people in mid-life have dreams in the areas of finances andwork whereas older people have ambitions about their health or say they havealready accomplished their dreams?

• How do these results compare to your own answers?

(If Appropriate) Ask Younger Group: How do you think people’s answers might

have been different if we hadn’t limited this to the next five years?



Wrap-Up/ConclusionBoomer Question (if seems appropriate):

We’ve been focused on people age 38–56. As some of you might have guessed,

these people are in the generation commonly referred to as “baby boomers.”

• What does it mean to you to be a boomer?

• Boomers have done a lot of things differently and the country changed a lot as a result of that. How do you think the boomers might approach old age differently?


159



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