Baby Boomers, retirement and volunteering – Jonathan Pietsch

1. Baby Boomers, retirement and volunteering – Jonathan Pietsch Reshaping volunteering BASS Care, Balwyn Evergreen Centre, City of Boroondara and Deakin University

2. Questions • What would I like to get out of this session?

3. Baby Boomers 1946- 1964

4. Retirement here we come

5. Overview • BASS Care • Our process and how it happened • What the literature says • Our study – 30 ageing boomers • Recommendations • Progress

6. BASS Care • Boroondara Aged Services Society • Began 1956 Meals on Wheels Canterbury • Now 176 bed Nursing home • 100 Independent Living Units in the Community • Dementia day respite service • Two social support centres for 80 plus • 260 volunteers engaged in delivering 180 meals a day

7. Emergent process- an overview • Senior citizen groups – struggling • How do we get the best level of involvement, representation and Input from the elderly? • Train representatives to be a part of a community consultation group • Identify issues, target groups that require some focused attention • Create an environment of enquiry and learning • Commitment to Participatory Action Planning

8. How did it happen? • Began discussions with neighbouring community centre (Balwyn Evergreen) • Links to Council and Deakin University developed • 10 people invited from our Volunteer network • Information session set up January 2012 • All agreed to meet monthly

9. Community consultants • Who are they? • Chosen from Volunteer Program • Age range 62 to 92 years young • Varied background- 3 men @ 7 women • Met once a month for 90 mins • Also involved another local agency, Council and Deakin University

10. What happened • First 3 meetings focused broadly on ageing, interviewing skills and identifying possible areas to focus the work. • Areas identified were: • Ageing baby boomers • The most isolated elderly • Carers • It was agreed to focus on Baby Boomers first • Ethics application submitted

11. Practise Interviews • While awaiting ethics application approval we had two meetings of actual/practice interviews. • In pairs group members interviewed volunteer baby boomers – (13) • Great opportunity to put theory into practice • Helped to test the questions • Increased confidence of community consultants

12. Baby Boomers – what we wanted to know • Plans for retirement • Experience and interest in Volunteering

13. Ageing Baby boomers interviewed 60 – 66 years of age

14. Literature review • Boomers characterised: • Highly educated, workaholics, defined by professional accomplishments. • Plan to be younger longer and semi retire in their 60’s • 2/3rds want to keep working to stay mentally alert • Men looking to relax, women looking to community participation and personal growth • Concerned about a major illness

16. 5 types • Emblazoned Power blazes • Wealth Builders • Leisure lifers • Anxious idealists • Stretched and stress

17. Contrast

18. Contrasting views • Do not like what retirement signifies • Its repugnant as it can be associated with frailty, redundancy and inactivity • Sharp divide between high and low income boomers • Raising the retirement age has been met with hostility • Caught between pension being an entitlement with the late intro of compulsory super. • 42% selfunded retirees, 46% partial and 12% completely reliant • Boomers as the lucky generation? – simplistic and misleading

19. Since the GFC • 40% of boomers worse off, 44% not affected Older boomers more affected. • The GFC has had a significant impact on financial, work and retirement plans- “Hang in their approach”. • Recent employment stats indicate increases in 65 Plus employment rates • There is a small % of boomers who see retirement as a career change, work fewer hours, enjoy hobbies and volunteering. • The notion of the resilient Baby boomer post GFC.

20. Baby Boomers and volunteering • “Todays baby boomers are more diverse, healthier, better educated and financially secure and active than any generation to come before them. They have a deep desire to make a difference in ambitious ways”. Johnson • ‘Reinventing Aging’- boomers to volunteer less in formal situations. • In what has become one of Putmans most famous observations, they go bowling more than their parents did, but they do not join bowling leagues- instead, they bowl alone. (Putman 2000)

21. Categories

22. Volunteering directions • 55% of a very large cohort will be looking for ways to contribute. • Redesigning volunteering – • Baby boomers volunteering to ---not from • Focus on using life skills that recognise individuality and an ongoing life journey • More and varied opportunities

23. Our sampleSeniors question boomers30 baby boomers interviewed

24. Demographics – 30 interviewees • Aged 60 to 66 (Boroondara) • 65% women • 80% born in Australia (English as first language) • 55% fully retired • 55% self funded retirees • 80% tertiary educated (50% Boroondara 30% State) • 50 % have downsized already • Almost half were single – Mostly women divorced or widowed. • Biased sample re: retirement Great sample to explore volunteering

25. Profiles 1 • Single women- currently full time work but moving to part time work. • Looking forward to a complete change of pace. Has travelled a lot recently and is looking to do more. Recently joined recreational club. • Looking for volunteer opportunity in a hospital. • Mother in nursing home and well catered for • Biggest fear is loosing memory • Volunteering opportunities need to be flexible

26. Profile 2 • Married man, European descent • Took a retirement package after some meticulous planning • Have downsized and renovated with years ahead in mind • Looked at volunteering but is very busy with assisting some friends • Volunteering needs to be flexible

28. Retirement questions • Have you thought much about retirement? • What do you see as the opportunities in retirement? • What would you like to achieve in retirement? • Given good health what would you like to be doing in 10 years time? • What gives your life purpose? • Overtime capabilities diminish. When do you think you may give up driving? • Have you started to consider downsizing? • What do you think aged care services should provide? • What is your biggest fear in retiring?

29. Volunteer questions • Have you volunteered in the past? • How would you define volunteering? • What is your attitude to volunteering generally? • What is it that you enjoy/not enjoy about volunteering? • What future opportunities do you see for yourself in the area of volunteering? • What would your ideal volunteer role look like? • Would you consider a formal role in a club? What is attractive/not attractive about such roles? • What do you see as the key elements in making volunteering meaningful? • What do you see as the challenges of volunteering into the future?

30. Conclusions • Not a homogenous group • Retirement -forced, well planned and/or a gradual change • Many skills to offer- people, coordination and technical. • Listen- to skills, interests and potential • Flexible opportunities • Matching work – skills and the needs of the elderly • Define emerging opportunities/programs • Improve marketing

31. Opportunities • Create new services that currently don’t exist • Improve marketing • Listen, Listen and Listen • Design new programs (Social, learning and exercise) • Educational - Intro the elderly to IPADS • Biographers – collecting the stories of our elders • Seminars about retirement and volunteering

32. Community consultants experience • Insights • “Good research can come from everyday people.” • “Community members with disparate backgrounds and a wide age range can work together productively.” • “I really enjoyed the interviewing process.” • “Meeting once a month was just right. It gave me time to think and absorb the information and prepare for the next meeting”

33. Improved Marketing BANNERS

34. Posters New brochure

35. Identified new opportunities • Position descriptions written for • Computer learning program coordinator • Exercise assistant volunteers • Social support assistant • Community consultants • Future possibilities • Story telling program coordinator • Volunteer driving coordinator

36. Screening/assessment Is there a specific reason why you are interested in volunteering with BASS Care? Is there any personal goal you would like to develop through volunteering? Do you have any skills, interests or expertise you would like to share or develop whilst volunteering? Do you have ideas on how you would like to achieve this? Have you had any experiences that would help you with volunteering in this role? What do you see as being the ideal volunteer role for you?

37. Questions • ?????? • What experiences are you having with Baby Boomers?

38. Baby boomer report – BASS Care Website /News • http://www.basscare.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Baby-boomers-and-volunteering-FINAL-PDF-Feb-13-2013.pdf

39. Key references • Australian Social Trends September 2012- Older people and the Labour market. Australian Bureau of Statistics. • Rich Boomer, Poor Boomer – Retirement prospects for the not so lucky generation. Myra Hamilton & Clive Hamilton Webpaper August 2006 • Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia: Understanding the effects of the financial crisis Feb 2012 • The strength of the infrastructure of volunteer Agencies and the capacity to absorb “Baby Boomer” volunteers. By Christopher Johnson Harvard Foundation on Retirement and Civic Engagement 2003. The strength of the infrastructure of volunteer Agencies and the capacity to absorb “Baby Boomer” volunteers. By Christopher Johnson Harvard Foundation on Retirement and Civic Engagement 2003. Putman, Robert D. 2000. Bowling alone: The Collapse and revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster. • Culp, Ken. 2009 Recruiting and Engaging Baby Boomer Volunteers. Journal of Extension. • LoomanSwinson, Judy 2006. Focusing on the Health Benefits of Volunteering as a Recruitment Strategy. The International Journal of Volunteer Administration Volume XXIV, Number 2. • Parkinson Lynne, Warburton Jeni, Sibbritt David, and Byles Julie. 2010: Volunteering and older women: Psychological and health predictors of participation, Aging and Mental Health, 14:18, 917-927. • Eisner, David, Grimm, Robert, Maynard, Shannon, Washburn, Susannah. 2009 The New Volunteer Workforce Stanford Social Innovation review