Retiring Baby Boomers? Not Likely

The baby boomers are babies no more. The first of the estimated 76 million of them turn 55 in 2001. Many are expected to take advantage of early retirement and exit corporate life soon thereafter.

Does that mean the folks who brought America the Summer of Love, Woodstock and the Weathermen will finally fade away like a bad acid trip? Hardly. They could become the next great wave of entrepreneurs, said John Challenger, executive vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based employee outplacement firm.

Rather than flock to Florida en masse to play golf, some baby boomer retirees will start their own businesses. And they will employ other seniors, creating what Challenger calls “gray businesses.”

“They are the most educated and healthy generation ever,” he said. “They’re not going away quietly.”

And what will these “gray businesses” do? Many will take care of their grandchildren and their parents--literally, Challenger said. The oldsters will establish such businesses as private preschools, child-care centers and elder care programs.

The aging boomers will especially cater to the overworked Gen X’ers, who are just beginning to settle down and have families of their own.