A Study on the Establishment of Second-Life Design Measures for Baby Boomers
Yumi Son, Sung Lee
The preparation of basic second-life design policies for baby boomers, who have higher economic power and educational background than the current older generations, can be regarded as constituting a milestone in terms of the establishment of a general social system for an aged society.
The need for second-life design for baby boomers has increased. In Korea, the income security system for seniors is rather weak, and especially so when compared with developed nations. However, support policies for second-life design are fragmentary in nature, and each individual must develop their second life on their own. In addition, the fact that individuals are entirely responsible for the failure of second-life design has emerged as another problem.
To this end, this study, which deals with the forging of plans to support second-life design by baby boomers and the putting of such plans into practice, can be seen as being concerned with these critical points.
The identification of the direction which research and contents for second-life design for baby boomers should take was ascertained through a study of the relevant needs. The findings of this inquiry can be broken down into three categories.
First, baby boomers can be regarded as a sandwich generation in that they must simultaneously support their children and parents. Therefore, income security via economic activity constitutes an essential element of baby boomers’ second-life.
Second, baby boomers need health care, leisure and social relationships. Social relationships that have been established are likely to be ruptured after retirement, with this trend being especially pronounced amongst males. This kind of isolation can cause an overwhelming sense of loss. Therefore, baby boomers need to keep some kind of social networks after retirement.
Third, baby boomers have a deep desire to learn. While learning is meaningful in and of itself, it also represents an important social participation mechanism.
Traditional contents of old age plans were jobs, health, leisure, finance, housing and personal relations, and a similar weight was assigned to each factor. However, in the second-life design for baby boomers, jobs would become a focused factor while other factors might be integrated synthetically through jobs.
Next, we reviewed the current policies about second-life design for baby boomers, especially those related to employment, health, social participation, leisure and lifelong learning. While there is no specialized policy for baby boomers, some policies for an aged society have begun to be drawn up.
There are more employment policies than policies related to the other factors under review.
Truth be told, the policies related to health, social participation, leisure and lifelong learning remain rather limited in scope. Given the fact that the majority of baby boomers must earn a living, its becomes imperative that policies for old age income security be established as a part of a social security network.
One outstanding feature uncovered during our policy review is that there exists a virtual dead zone as far as support policies for baby boomers are concerned. In this regard, while the policies of the Ministry of Labour and Employment support employees and the unemployed, the Ministry of Health & Welfare develops policies for senior citizens. Considering that most employees retire at age 54 in Korea, the individuals who fall within the 54~64 age group can be seen as belonging to a dead zone in terms of support policies. Here, active consideration should be given to the fact that this age group represents the entry stage in terms of second-life design.
Various implications can be extracted by analyzing practical case studies of second-life design support. First, the outplacement services for employees and life design service of POSCO were reviewed. Second, Gyeonggi-do's Baby Boomers’ New Start Program and Seoul's Classic Mentor Service were also analyzed as examples of local autonomous entities. Third, the National Pension Service's Consulting on Successful Aging service and the Korea Labour Force Development Institute for the Aged were also examined.
The following can be regarded as the main findings extracted from the case studies. First, the government should develop support policies to ease baby boomers’ retirement in active partnership with companies. Second, local autonomous entities should get involved in job creation policies with the central government so as to create job openings that reflect local circumstances.
Lastly, most second-life design programs are provided in a fragmented and sporadic manner.
Synthetic programs should be developed and disseminated based on cooperation between the government, companies, local governments, and the private sector.
The examination of the problems and solutions related to baby boomers that have emerged and been crafted in the United States, France and Japan can be very beneficial in helping Korea forge its own support policies for baby boomers.
Baby boomers in the United States are healthier and have a higher educational background and better economic situation than their parents’ generation. While the government functions as a social safety net, the so-called fourth sector has emerged at the forefront of the social innovation needed to resolve tasks such as those related to an aged society and second-life design for baby boomers.
In Japan, the government has established some mechanisms related to baby boomers retirement such as the abolition or extension of mandatory retirement and on-going employment for baby boomers. However, such mechanisms have tended to operate in the red from a budgetary standpoint and have not been very different from the aged society measures that have been offered over the last 15 years. Meanwhile, various attempts have been made within the private sector to bring about second-life design based on group consciousness and volunteer work.
Baby boomers began to retire some 10 years ago in France. France is pushing ahead with active policies to promote outplacement and retainment of older employees. This move was motivated by the fact that France showed lower employment rates amongst employees older that 55 than most other European nations. One distinct feature of the French case is the balance achieved in terms of the sharing of roles between the government, companies, local communities, and individuals. The most complex sector with regards to government intervention has been companies in the Korean case. France has made employment planning for older workers compulsory for companies employing more than 50 employees. It is necessary to examine how the government assigned these duties to companies and the possibility that these kind of policies can be fulfilled.
As discussed above, a certain polarization has taken place in terms of the use of resource and the preparation of second-life designs for baby boomers. Also, there are many differences in the level of concern and preparation for second-life design, especially between highly educated people.
The government should establish the basic infrastructure needed to overcome these personal differences, and craft policies geared towards more vulnerable baby boomers who are likely to experience market failure. On the other hand, in the case of highly educated and skilled baby boomers, the government should limit their authority to establish related information networks and leave the practical project implementation to the private sector. This kind of role sharing is commonly found in the United States, France, and Japan.
With these policy fundamentals in mind, the government should establish a “Life Foundation’
that would function as a second-life design support institution. This entity can function as a synthetic organization which supports second-life design. In addition, the enlargement of jobs within the public sector and job creation based on the baby boomers’ skills are also needed.
This kind of job creation could be combined with the social knowledge and experience of baby boomers.
Furthermore, comprehensive second-life design program should be developed and disseminated
for employees in each company. These programs should be provided from a long term standpoint.
