Boomers Becoming Their Own Boss in Retirement

For many boomers, retirement is an opportunity to start a business and become their own boss - and 15 percent of them intend to work for themselves until they die.

That’s according to a new Ipsos Reid (Canada) study of Boomers who have either retired early to start their own business or intend to do so, reports MarketingCharts. Conducted for BMO Financial Group, the Ipsos study further found that one in five (21 percent) intend to run their business for more than ten years into their ” retirement,” four in ten (38 percent) intend to do so for somewhere between six and ten years, and just 16 percent say that they will do so for less than five years.

Among the findings of the study:

• The major reasons for Boomers’ operating or intending to operate their own business (see table):
  • A plurality want to stay active in their retirement years, with four in ten (40 percent) saying they need to keep occupied.
  • 29 percent cite fulfilling a lifelong dream.
  • 26 percent say they need the money
• Risks and fears of operating a small business (see table):
  • Nearly one quarter (22 percent) of Boomers who are intending to be or are currently entrepreneurs indicate that their biggest fear is not having enough customers
  • An equal proportion mention that not having enough money is their biggest fear in running their own business.
  • Men (20 percent) are more likely than women (15 percent) to suggest that they do not have any fears when it comes to running their own business.

MarketingCharts offers more findings, including on workload, line of work, and financing.

About the data: These are some of the findings of a BMO poll conducted by Ipsos Reid between October 2 and October 10, 2007. The online survey is based on a randomly selected representative sample of 304 Boomers, aged 45 to 60, inclusive, who have either retired early and are currently running a small business or intend to start a small business when they retire from their current job.