Born across the 18-year span of 1946 to 1964, baby boomers—all 76 million of them—have shaped and re-shaped American society at every stage of their lives, said Barbara Hawkins, associate professor in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Indiana University Bloomington.

"We saw the expansion of schools, recreation and playgrounds, and programs to meet the needs of youthful baby boomers," she said. "As they continued to grow, they left indelible marks on society—extensive changes in the education system, growth in the economy, emergence in alternative life- styles, dramatic shifts in the nature and structure of families, and radical transformation in the nature of gender relationships."

And so it goes. After years of attention, with a certain amount of pride and no small sense of entitlement (after all, we were raised by Dr. Spock—meaning the physician, not the Vulcan), this group continues to leave its collective fingerprints all over the walls of medical and university research labs, social policy think tanks, entrepreneurial offices and political enclaves.

"The notion of looking at generational shifts and how generations impact society as they grow older is an important consideration when we’re looking at ‘aging well,’" said Hawkins, using a term that advances the idea of health and productive aging.

Boomers, she said, are very different from the previous generation. "Thirty to 35 percent of the people who will be 60 to 70 in the early part of this century will have a college degree, compared with 16 percent of that age group in 1994. Typically, people who have higher levels of education are in better health, they have higher expectations, they tend to command a higher income and they have a greater sense of independence. So, they may have very different expectations about growing older, more demanding in some ways.

"Ageism?!! It won’t be particularly well tolerated by boomers," she predicted.

Hawkins also pointed to female elders, who in today’s world are among the most vulnerable, often living alone on a very limited income. Boomer women, though, have experienced dramatic changes in the organization and structure of the family. They’ve married later, if at all, married more frequently, had fewer or even no children, and headed a significant number of single parent households. And, they have increasingly entered the work force for longer periods of time, sometimes in professional careers that have provided fatter paychecks. Some boomers may decide not to retire if they’ve built fulfilling work histories.

With all of this in mind, it shouldn’t be surprising if female boomers have expectations about independence, autonomy, self fulfillment and retirement that are distinct and probably different than today’s older woman.

Indeed, retirement for all boomers raises issues, said Hawkins. "As the first baby boomers get to 65, it’s predicted they will probably enjoy many of the same retirement benefits and social entitlements today’s elders have been afforded. But as they reach 85 and their potential need for health-care resources and services increases, the youngest baby boomers will be entering their retirement years."

What does this mean in terms of social policy? Plenty. Start with a bad case of classic sibling rivalry.

"There may be the chance for conflicting tension between older and younger boomers as the youngest reach retirement. Public financing of retirement benefits for the youngest may be in great competition with health-care expenditures to support the older baby boomers," explained Hawkins. "So the evolution of retirement policies and practices that protect income and participation in the work force is an important dialogue in the new millennium."

Hawkins also pointed to other challenges: increasing income disparity between whites and minority groups; "economic bifurcation"—the continued disparity of vulnerable populations in relation to adequate income resources; and a climbing ethnic diversity which could escalate further by immigration pattern changes. And finally, there is the decline in community stability and shared values, an issue that seriously affects societal ebb and flow.

Hawkins promotes the concept of "aging well," saying that in this country, growing older has been defined and treated as a medical problem of illness and disease. But as we see a decline in health problems, we also see more human potential.

"‘Aging well’ is an aggressive movement to alter the long-standing myths and negative stereotypes previously used to characterize growing old in the United States," Hawkins explained. "The idea of ‘aging well’ conveys positive images of, and approaches to, aging. It is a positive portrait, one that emphasizes the idea that people can adapt and maintain satisfying lives as they age, even when circumstances are less than optimal. It supports the continued involvement of older adults in positive, productive and healthy living."

According to Hawkins, herself a boomer, the essential issue is to raise the public’s awareness of "aging well."

"In order to facilitate and promote the concept, the public needs to be committed to providing policies and environments that enhance lifestyle choices. Much of the work we need to do involves studying the process of aging well and then drawing implications back to social policies that need to be put into place in support of that goal. Tomorrow’s elderly will continue to change the face of an aging population," she said.