Baby Boomers in 20 years - a look ahead

In families of choice in addition to families of relatives is how Baby Boomers may choose to live in 20 years.

That's one forward-thinking conclusion of an extensive study: "Boomers: The Next 20 Years, Ecologies of Risk."

It's hard to imagine the Baby Boomers, much less the planet, in 20 years. The oldest of the Baby Boomers, now 61, will be 81. The youngest Boomers who are 44 now will be 64.

But MetLife's Mature Market Institute, along with the Institute for the Future, took on the crystal ball task of looking into a future for Baby Boomers that it believes will be shaped by ecologies -- what it sees as environmental, financial and social ecologies.

"With the world focused on the collapse of financial markets, it is especially important to understand the big picture that boomers face over the coming decades," Kathi Vian, forecast director for the Institute for the Future, said in a news release.

"They have crafted complex ecologies of risks and resources throughout their adulthood, and they may well manage those ecologies with surprising skill -- and sometimes surprising innovations -- as they age."

Some interesting aspects of the forward-looking study involve redefining families and communities.

"Families will be 'chosen,' not just inherited," said the study. It almost conjures up the communes of 1960s hippiedom.

"There will be peer caretaking and social care matching services. Boomers will be challenged by greater distance between family members and greater responsibility for the financial well-being of children and grandchildren, contributing to slowed personal wealth accumulation."

The latter point about caring for adult children was examined here recently.

The issue of community will be defined both in a physical sense and on-line, according to the study.

The study predicts "anti-boomer backlash and ageist zoning laws" in the construction of communities that meet the needs of Boomers as they age.

"Boomers will use new ways to build communities to close the gap created by decreased mobility, polarization, social fragmentation and health challenges. Like their younger counterparts they will participate in online social networks, virtual retirement communities and community blogging," said the study.