More than ever, people in their 50s and 60s are seeking happiness by ending their marriages.
BY RICK MONTGOMERY,The Kansas City Star ? The generation that once embraced the smiley face and peace symbol as cultural logos is now divorcing in historic fashion.
Divorce rates are higher for baby boomers than for any previous generation, while rates are declining, slightly, for society as a whole.
New research and census data reveal an unprecedented trend of Americans splitting apart as they turn grayer: In 2009, people ages 50 and older were twice as likely to divorce as their counterparts in 1990.
Researchers have just begun to explore why. They know that, for many boomer couples, the kids are out of the house and it?s time to face reality. Often, one spouse has fallen for someone else at work.
Professional women, a boomer hallmark, are better able to get by on their own. And longer life spans probably figure into the phenomenon, experts say. People in their 50s or early 60s may expect to have a few more healthy decades left, so why spend them unhappy?
?We haven?t put much focus on divorce among older adults. The thought was, well, they don?t get divorced ? their transition is into widowhood,? said Susan L. Brown, a sociology professor at Bowling Green State University and co-director of the National Center for Family & Marriage Research, which released a study on the ?Gray Divorce Revolution? last month. More?
By Laure Belot
LE MONDE/WorldcrunchWhether it is to avoid the nursing home, loneliness or rising rents, co-housing is the new trend for a generation of baby-boomers staring at 60 and beyond.
Jo?lle remembers the exact moment when she first had the idea: ?I was out in the sun at my friend Marie?s when the telephone rang. My 80-year-old father had just fallen at home.? It was mid-July 2008 and Jo?lle would have to manage her father?s hospitalization from 800 kilometers away ? and the doctors were quick to suggest placing him in a nursing home.
The initial emergency over, the two friends discussed the situation. ?We agreed that we didn?t want our children to have to go through the same thing,? remembers Jo?lle. ?Marie then talked about her country house near Aix-en-Provence. ?We both looked at each other and decided that living together was something to think about.?
Four years later, that casual conversation had turned into a real project. Jo?lle and Marie, now 52 and 54 respectively, got their husbands involved in the adventure, L?on, 57, and Jacques, 62, and then C?cile, 58, and Jean, 62. They all plan to move into the country house together. ?In 5 or 10 years, when we are all retired,? explains Joelle, ?that gives us time to get prepared.?
This unconventional but pragmatic solution is happening all over France ? dozens of house-shares have already been created, and they are giving food for thought to many in their 60s, 70s and 80s. More?
The budget: it?s simply wrong to blame the baby boomers for everything
We are not to blame for the actions of the avaricious clowns who got us into this chaos
The Observer, ? Will Hutton seems to imply, (?This disgraceful budget smacks of incompetence and cowardice?), that all ?baby boomers? are affluent enough to withstand the ?granny tax? announced in the budget. Not so. I missed out a few years ago when Gordon Brown got rid of the 10% tax band, which ate into my modest earnings. The consolation was to be enhanced personal allowances when I reached 65. Now I have missed out again, as in two years? time when I am 65, the enhancement will have been eroded. I am not the only person in this position; it is one which may affect women pensioners of my age more than men.
Luckily for me, the announcement was not a surprise, as I realised what would happen to these tax allowances in January 2012, although that doesn?t help the situation. Besides a state pension, I have some occupational pension income (not massive by any means) so I am in a better place financially than many others. However, I was surprised to hear that, according to the chancellor, I will not be a pensioner until I am 65.
If organisations had not been allowed a decade or so of pensions holidays for their contributions, would there be much difference today? Probably not.
K Butler
Andover
Hampshire
To save really big money, George Osborne?s primary targets should obviously have been tax evasion and avoidance. Instead, he has targeted everyone except the rich. Osborne fails to understand that many of us accept that we need to pay taxes to fund services and pensions, especially for those who have never had the good health and opportunities to achieve even the bare minimum. We also believe in a decent minimum wage that gives people self respect. More?
veterans day 2011 veterans day 2011 cnbc debate family circus spanier walmart black friday ad walmart black friday ad
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.