HOPE - Hakuhodo's Elder Business Dvelopment Division

HOPE Report Baby-Boomer Research 1:
Preliminary Report on Survey of Baby-Boomer Couples' Perceptions of Retirement
85% of boomer husbands look forward to retirement.
40% of boomer wives feel depressed by it Husbands and wives have clearly different images of life after retirement Husbands ideals: relaxation, self-indulgence.
Wives: active husbands that socialize

Hakuhodo's Elder Business Development Division constantly monitors elders, or people aged 50+, through various surveys and other research. With Japan's baby-boom generation (born 1946-50) set to start heading into retirement from 2007, we surveyed Hakuhodo's Baby-Boomer & 50s Hi-panel of respondents to find out what perceptions baby-boom husbands and wives have of retirement. Below is a report of the preliminary findings of this survey.

The Internet survey, conducted in the first two weeks of August 2004 questioned 234 baby-boom generation husbands (born 1946-50) and their wives (total 468 people) living in the Tokyo/Kanto and Kansai regions.

The results showed that 85% of baby-boom husbands look forward to retirement. They have quite different feelings from their forebears, who typically looked toward retirement with a touch of melancholy. Meanwhile, 40% of wives felt depressed by their husband's impending retirement.

Similarly, we discovered a gap between husbands and wives in the ideal lifestyles they would like for the husband. Husbands themselves would like to break away from the business world, put their interests first and generally take it easy, while wives wanted their husbands to stay connected with the business world if possible, put outside social relationships first and be active. There were also gender differences in areas husbands needed to put extra effort into after retirement. Husbands wanted to manifest a desire to enjoy things as a couple, while wives wanted more help with the housework. With many husbands and wives both interested in using the computer, and having decided preferences toward domestic and international travel as things to do as a couple, we also gained some insight into the potential of the baby-boomer post-retirement market.

With many husbands and wives both interested in using the computer, and having decided preferences toward domestic and international travel as things to do as a couple, we also gained some insight into the potential of the baby-boomer post-retirement market.

Snippets from the survey results

The great majority (85.4%) of men look forward to retirement. Conversely, almost four in ten wives (38.8%) feel depressed about their husband's retirement.
In imagined lifestyle post-retirement for husbands, husbands themselves want to leave the business world and take it easy enjoying their own thing, while wives want their husbands to stay involved with business if possible, and actively interact with the outside world.
There was also a gap in the things couples think husbands need to put more effort into after retirement. Husbands see having an interest and enjoying things as a couple, while wives top choice is to have their husbands help more with the housework.
More than 2/3 of husbands (67.9%) and 43.2% of wives want to enjoy PCs/the Internet by themselves. This portends a PC boom in the elder segment. In things to enjoy as a couple, the top 2 choices for both husbands and wives were domestic travel and international travel, in that order.
More than 70% of both husbands and wives have concerns about their health and finances after they retire. More than 60% are worried about nursing care. Wives are a little more pessimistic than their husbands.

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