Why baby boomers will need to work longer

The twilight of the US baby boom generation is approaching, and with it deep, structural economic shifts whose impact will be felt for decades to come. New research from the McKinsey Global Institute shows that there is only one realistic way to prevent aging boomers from experiencing a significant decline in their living standards and becoming a multi-decade drag on US and world economic growth. Underlying the need for change is a reversal of trends that have been in operation since the 1960s. For decades, boomers swelled the ranks of the US labor force, driving up economic output as they earned and consumed more than any other generation in history. Far less well understood are the reasons for this generation's economic success. Boomers have collectively earned more than twice as much as members of the silent generation did at the same age -- $3.7 trillion versus $1.6 trillion.