Life of Success to a Life of Significance
Baby Boomers Heading Back to Work with Meaning
(ARA) - Jim Wyner is having the time of his life. He lives in
La Jolla, Calif., and although he retired six years ago, he’s
ecstatic about his new career after retirement. And Jim is not
alone. The nation is experiencing large numbers of executives
retiring, and this generation of retirees is not sitting at home
playing bingo. These Baby Boomers are looking to give back to
their professional community and aiming to positively affect the
lives of other executives.
At 64, Wyner retired from Peak Technologies where he was the
president and chief operating officer. He retired to Southern
California, and was really looking forward to relaxing and
spending a lot of time with his family. Just a few months later,
Jim found his “next” career -- and has never been happier.
“I was tired of business travel, but I also couldn’t sit at home
waiting for the social security check to come in,” says Wyner.
“I found that after I retired I didn’t think twice about going
back to work, it was simply the next step of my life.”
Wyner jumped back into the workforce by becoming an executive
coach with Vistage International. Companies such as Vistage are
adapting to the needs of the “new” workforce by offering
retirees a chance to use their knowledge and wisdom to guide the
younger generations moving into senior executive roles.
The AARP indicates 70 to 80 percent of Americans plan to work
after retirement and not because they have to, because they want
to. Baby Boomers are becoming more active in their community,
serving on boards, joining membership groups and volunteering
after they retire.
Sixty-eight percent of executive coaches, or Chairs, at Vistage
are retirees who chose to go back to work. Offering them great
flexibility and time to enjoy the benefits of a retirement
lifestyle, a Chair builds and facilitates groups of CEOs and
senior executives wanting to grow their businesses.
Jim Wyner is now in his fifth year of being a Vistage Chair and
says he loves it. Much like Jim, Dan Barnett, former chief
operating officer at Vistage, recently decided it was his time
to retire and spend more time with his family. Not wanting to
leave the company completely, he “retired” to become a Chair and
now leads a group in the Reno/Lake Tahoe area.
“It is my time to retire, not my time to stop working,” says
Barnett, “Working as a Chair allows me to spend more time with
my family while helping others through my experiences.”
This is a trend likely to continue. Looking forward, the federal
Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected the number of employed
Americans ages 55 to 64 will increase by 51 percent by 2012,
while the number ages 65 to 74 will increase by 48 percent. In
2002 about one in seven employed Americans was 55 or older; in
2012 that share will be close to one in five.
Just like thousands of their Baby Boomer peers, Jim and Dan are
discovering that working after retirement is no longer a trend;
it is a lifestyle. The next generation needs the wisdom of Baby
Boomers. With such a large gap between generations it is
important to pass along the knowledge and take advice from those
who know best; from those who have been at the top.
To learn more about the opportunities offered through Vistage,
log on to www.vistage.com .
Courtesy of ARAcontent
