"Boomers have lived through multiple economic upheavals: periodic recessions, the oil shock and stagflation of the 1970s, the dislocations caused by globalization at the end of the 20th century, and the dot-com boom of the early 2000s. Now a confluence of events—the credit crunch, falling home prices, soaring energy costs, and a weakening dollar—is creating an even more challenging environment as they move into later life. These risks are not isolated but are interrelated, forming part of an “ecology of risk.” Fortunately, boomers have amassed personal, social, experiential, economic, and even spiritual assets that they can call on as they age. They will use these assets to craft distinctive ecologies of resources to respond to highly individual ecologies of risk. This forecast explores some of the key elements of these ecologies and the roles that they will play in boomers’ lives in the next two decades."
 

"Reinvention also extends to the world of capital.  Traditional financial resources such as family savings, home equity, pensions, and other instruments that can provide regular income still play a prominent role in their visions of their futures.
 

But boomers are also increasingly deliberate in their cultivation of new skills, networks, and identities—including new forms of social, intellectual, and natural capital—that they hope will translate into economic value even as they age."

To read the entire study: The Boomers: The Next 20 Years - Ecologies of Risk produced by the Institute for the Future.