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Are the baby boomers dragging us down?
(Dallas Morning News, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) DALLAS _ As chief executive of AARP, Bill Novelli knows there's strength in numbers. But at the moment, his mind isn't on only his organization's 36 million members. It's also on the 78 million baby boomers who are changing the look of aging in America.
Novelli has written a book, "50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America," challenging the conventional wisdom that an older population presents an enormous problem for this country. He views it as an enormous opportunity.
"Clearly, our society needs to make some changes, and we need to begin now," Novelli writes. "But I see that as a positive development, not a negative one, with boomers leading the way to a brighter future for all of us."
AARP's chief executive expects boomers to rewrite the rules of old age. They'll be fitter. They'll be savvier about technology. And they'll be more engaged in social issues. This is, after all, the generation that grew up in the `60s, he points out.
Novelli believes the aging population will offer opportunities for improving health care, redesigning retirement, changing the workplace, building elder-friendly communities and leaving a meaningful legacy.
People turning 50 today have yet to live more than half their adult lives. Just as the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and the Digital Revolution in the 20th remade society, so will the Longevity Revolution define the 21st, he says.
Novelli talked about this newest revolution and other topics during a recent interview with The Dallas Morning News.
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Q: You're optimistic about the age boom. Why?
A: "People ask how our society will afford health care as we get older. They wonder how we'll pay for long-term care as more of us enter nursing homes. They warn that Social Security will break the bank.
"But, as I argue in my book, none of that has to happen. This is a wealthy and innovative country. We Americans have reinvented ourselves many times, and we will do it again.
"One of our greatest resources are people over 50. They're healthier and better-educated than earlier generations. So my book is a call to arms. We have these opportunities. We just need to seize the moment."
Q: Let's take health care as an example. How do we reform it to accommodate an older population?
A: "Our system is set up to deliver acute care. Yet as people age, more will live with chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. People with chronic illnesses use, by far, the most health care.
"We must do better at managing chronic diseases. If we had a national strategy for preventing such illnesses, it would make a huge difference. Yet we spend too little on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"If we could control Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease, we would improve our quality of life and save money. Yet we underfund the National Institutes of Health. We have to invest in order to save."
Q: What will it take for that to occur?
A: "Our political leaders are smart people. They realize the problems. What's missing are the political will and bipartisanship.
"The partisanship in Washington is terrible at the moment. But I think the November elections may send a message to both parties and jolt them into action.
"Also, businesses won't tolerate rising health care costs much longer.
"It's only a matter of time before they tell lawmakers, `We can't compete. We can't continue to pass these costs on to our employees, and we can't bear any more costs ourselves.' That should carry a lot of weight."
Q: Are you happy with how the Medicare drug benefit has worked?
A: "Eighty percent of those who are enrolled in a drug plan are satisfied. But 3 million low-income people have yet to sign up for coverage, and many of them are eligible for extra help with out-of-pocket costs. We have to reach out to them.
"On the legislative side, two things must be done. The first is to fix the asset test for getting that extra help. People who save $20,000 for retirement shouldn't be denied the low-income subsidy.
"The other is to give the secretary of health and human services the authority to negotiate prices with the pharmaceutical companies if it becomes necessary. That could put some downward pressure on drug costs."
Q: You write that Social Security doesn't need an overhaul, just adjustments. What do you have in mind?
A: "Social Security is neither broke nor broken, but we must look at ways to strengthen it and keep it solvent. We have to figure out how to raise more revenue, and we need to look at how to adjust the benefits.
"To get more revenue, we could collect Social Security payroll taxes on higher incomes. We could also make Social Security universal so that all workers pay into it. And we could invest the money better.
"In Canada, the government takes its retirement money and actually puts it into a trust fund that money managers oversee. The managers are then paid according to how well that trust fund does.
"On the benefits side, it's important to remember that Americans are living longer. Since many people plan to work longer, we could raise the retirement age further. It's already scheduled to rise to 67."
Q: Many people retire at 62 and collect reduced Social Security benefits. Should that early retirement age be raised, too?
A: "It does make sense, but we need to figure out some way to accommodate people who work with their hands and backs. I come from a family of steelworkers. When those guys were 62, they were worn out."
Q: How soon will traditional pensions become extinct, and will workers adjust by putting more in 401(k) plans?
A: "The children of current Social Security beneficiaries may have a lower quality of life than their parents. If nothing changes, it could happen. People are squeezed between taking care of their kids and their parents.
"But, as I say in my book, that doesn't need to happen. As defined-benefit pensions go the way of 45-rpm records and shag carpeting, we've got to persuade people to take full advantage of 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts.
"Many Americans aren't financially literate, so we'll also need to help them understand the importance of basic investment principles like diversifying your holdings and regularly rebalancing your portfolio."
Q: You predict that many boomers will work into their late 60s and early 70s. Will businesses value those older workers?
A: "Some companies are pushing older employers out the door. But a number of industries _ health care, retail and technology, for example _ are already facing worker shortages and trying to hold onto people.
"American business isn't going to act on the basis of altruism. We can be sure of that. But I think companies will find that older workers are good for their business and the overall economy.
"More and more businesses will want to hire and keep older workers, especially when they realize the boomers are healthy and have qualities such as institutional memory, loyalty and maturity."
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(c) 2006, The Dallas Morning News.
Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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PHOTO (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): boomers
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Copyright 2006 Dallas Morning News
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