The new age

The US finance magazine Forbes recently published a feature on home renovations for the elderly, reflecting the growing power of the retiree market.

Journalist Ashlea Ebeling reports on renovations to the home of Dan McConaughey, 79, a semi-retired lawyer, and his spouse, Mary Emma, 73.

The couple terms the work their "termiThe nation renovation". And the highlights include wheelchair access to both the shower and outdoor hot tub, and a bedroom that converts into a home office/all-purpose room during the day. Dan has law books to write and Mary Emma has her book club. (See: http://www.forbes.com/personalfinance/forbes/2008/0616/060.html)

And another US finance magazine, Fortune, recently published case studies of "retirees" who went back to work again in completely different occupations and gave their lives a new start. As one case study begins: "They're given up the daily grind but that doesn't mean they're retired. Meet seven boomers who have staged enviable second acts - on their own terms."

There is the manufacturer's rep who became a professional matchmaker, the software developer turned Alpaca breeder, and the defence contractor once on top-secret missile work for the Pentagon who is now a landscape gardener in his sixties. (click here)

The wave of an ageing population is occurring at a pace that will take many of us by surprise.

Just consider that some of Australia's biggest super funds didn't offer their own pension products until a short time ago - there was presumably insufficient demand from their members. (Apart from age considerations, much of this lack of demand would be due, of course, to the fact that super guarantee contributions have only existed for 16 years.)

I suspect that many people, including in the finance industry, do not yet recognise just how much our population makeup will change with the ageing of the baby boomer generations.

The publication of a feature on home renovations for the elderly truly reinforces the huge shift that is occurring in population patterns. Just watch how the development of financial products is going to change in order to meet the new demands of grey consumers.