Baby Boomers are often referred to as “the lump in the snake” when describing their effect on the economy. And right now, that lump is nearing retirement, taking with it an enormous amount of experience, wisdom and time-tested street smarts. “Companies could lose everyone who remembers how they handled the last economic downturn,” said Alison Sander, in a recent New York Times feature on retirement.

On the other side of the issue, boomers approaching retirement age may not be prepared, mentally or physically, to simply walk off the job and into retirement. Between the declining value of the dollar and unstable economy, the expense of individual health insurance and lengthening life spans, many potential retirees find themselves at retirement age unready, unwilling or unable to quit.

If you’re facing this dilemma, what are your options? What things do you need to consider?

For starters, you should ask yourself if you even want to retire. While some people may look forward to retirement, others find the idea of spending the final years in enforced leisure repellent. If the idea of not working fills you with dread, now may be the time to start planning for your second (or third, or fourth) career.

One option is internships. As the Times points out, adult internships have seen a major upswing over the past years as more and more mature applicants began looking for ways to extend their working years and use their hard-won knowledge. On the other hand, this can be a new concept to many organizations, so keep that in mind when you apply – you may have to sell yourself more than a younger applicant simply because you’re unexpected.

Another option is going into business for yourself. This is an increasingly popular option for retirement-age folks with a lifetime of experience and a desire to continue working in the same (or related) fields. It can be a risky and sometimes complicated route to take, but many professionals are finding that the rewards far outweigh the risks.

Finally, you can find a way to stay at your previous job. Perhaps you could go on flextime or part-time, if full time is no longer practical or desirable. Other options involve moving into a mentoring-based position, using your experience to create training curriculum or finding other ways to provide insight and guidance to the company. You might even be able to find or create a completely different position within the company that’s a better fit for your skills and desires – maybe moving from production to sales, or transferring to another branch.

Another question you should ask yourself is whether or not you can afford to retire. The answer, of course, depends on many variables, including how much you’ve managed to save, what types of investments you have, how well the dollar does over the next few decades, and how long you’re going to live. This last factor can be a big one. People are living much longer than they used to, and in some cases those extra years become extra expensive when health issues come into play. Your investment figures have to allow for these possibilities in order to be accurate.

Another issue is health insurance. Can you afford to buy your own? Can you even get accepted? Many retirees are discovering that insurance companies are reluctant to insure seniors, even if they’re in excellent health and have had few or no previous claims. And if you do get accepted, the premiums and deductibles may be far higher than anticipated. Since health care will become increasingly important the older you get, you have to make sure this base is firmly covered before making any retirement decisions.

Finally, you need to think about what you want to do with the rest of your life, and how you want to do it. Are you more interested in spending time with family than traveling? Is full retirement the only option, or could you simply slow down to part-time or seasonal employment. If your goal is to see the world, there may be many more options besides retirement – does your company have international offices? Could starting your own consulting firm play into those dreams? Do you want to fill your days with volunteering, or go back to school? Could you take better advantage of paid time off for volunteers or tuition assistance, or is it time to cut those ties and go off in a new direction?

There are many different pathways to reach the same place, and the world isn’t as black and white as it was in previous generations. Just because you’ve reached retirement age doesn’t mean retirement is the inevitable choice. Flexible work schedules, portfolio careers, alternative career paths, volunteering, internships, entrepreneurship – there are so many different ways you could spend your golden years. It pays to take the time to research your options and do a little creative thinking about what you want and why – before you make any knee-jerk decisions.

About the Author

Personal Coach David Bohl shares the viral message “Slow Down FAST” and helps people raise the roof on all facets of their lives without risking implosion. Get some must-haves for persevering in challenging times! Sign up for David’s online newsletter, The Bohl Report today.

Unfortunately, scams will always be with us.  As the recent Madoff scandal has proven, even old, well known scams like the Ponzi scheme are still around in one shape or another.  Because of the relative wealth of our current boomers and seniors, we are prime targets of today’s con artists.

Because we’re prime targets, we need to be even more vigilant.

In a recent press release on “The New Retirement Survey”- James P. Gorman, president of Merrill Lynch Global Private Client Group relayed a couple of interesting finding on baby boomers and their impending retirement.

Mr. Gordon said, “Baby boomers fundamentally will reinvent retirement. With boomers living longer and remaining engaged and employed beyond age 65, many of the traditional financial assumptions regarding retirement need to be re-examined”.

Interesting points that emerged from the survey were:

The unpredictable cost of illness and healthcare is by far the biggest fear. Baby boomers are three times more worried about major illness (48%), their ability to pay for healthcare (53%), winding up in a nursing home (48%) than they were about dying (17%).

Due to increased longevity, baby boomers will create a whole new life stage. Since the “normal” retirement age was established way back the average life expectancy of a retiree has increased by 7 years. We all dream about taking that around the world cruise and seeing our grand kids through college.

Since most baby boomers should be past the seven year itch phase I wonder what we could call these 7 years. Hopefully they won’t be the 7 lean years.

To most people retirement always appears as a distant responsibility and many people are caught with lack of sufficient funds to retire financially secure.

I’ve always found it tragic that our seniors end up on the outskirts of society, their accumulated wisdom going to waste, outcasts of a society that worships the beautiful and fresh.

I do however have a lot of faith in the ingenuity of baby boomers, it has definitely been one of the most relevant and vibrant generations, it will be interesting to see how we handle and improve retirement.

One thing that is becoming apparent is that many baby boomers are planning to continue working and being productive during their retirement years, with technology becoming more widely used, the Internet a whole new business arena is evolving and becoming available to baby boomers.

Judging from some of the online business opportunities out there, there are numerous very effective and proven paint by numbers business plans which could easily be operated from home or your favorite coffee shop, with tremendous income potential.

In the USA alone a new millionaire is made everyday in the direct selling, network marketing industry. We are seeing a steady influx of baby boomers into these arenas, learning from the technology savvy younger generations and complimenting it with their vast knowledge and experience.

I’m positive that harnessing technology and future advancements baby boomers will effectively overcome all the challenges facing them as they embrace this new chapter of their lives.

Imagine not having to worry about the financial challenges that might lie ahead once you’ve retired; imagine building a multi million online empire as your legacy.

The reality is you can and you can do this without leaving you home, neat, isn’t it? We are living in a very exciting time and our opportunities are now more than ever.

About the Author:

Written by Tonie Konig – Author of the blog “Make Money Online Proven Systems” you can see my work and more on the subject on the blog.