Baby Boomers’ Paths into Retirement

Abstract

Baby boomers—comprised of persons born between 1946 and 1964—made up almost one-third of the US population in 2010, the year that the first baby boomers reached retirement age. The baby boom generation is increasingly dominating the older segment of the population. However, we have not yet thoroughly analyzed whether the baby boom generation will follow the migration preferences of older cohorts. This research focuses on how the nexus of aging, migration, and income plays out for the older population, with a particular emphasis on the baby boom generation. The results show a distinct North-South disparity through spatial income redistribution due to elderly migration. We find that—in terms of net income gains—the winners of retirement migration are states located in the West and South, whereas the interior and the East Coast are losing net income. Older persons’ migration across interstate boundaries creates this stark income gain disparity because it is a highly selective process. Those choosing to move out of state are predominantly white, affluent, and better educated persons. Importantly, we also find a strong positive association between income and interstate moves for the baby boomers, but not for the WWII generation. The income selectivity and the associated spatial income redistribution will become stronger in the future when baby boomers become more and more dominant among the older population