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50 Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America

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50 Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America

50+ is a call to arms. It’s a groundbreaking look at the revolution that’s going on right now among seventy-eight million American baby boomers. From age 50+ on up, Americans are refusing to rock away their retirement. They’re starting new careers, rallying for causes close to their hearts, raising grandchildren, becoming more active in their communities, and, above all else, changing the face of aging in America.
Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP, knows that with the largest generation of Americans ever recorded nearing traditional retirement age, this revolution is changing the way 50+ Americans live their lives. The boomers have vast technological expertise, are actively involved in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, have been politically active throughout their lives, and are comfortable managing their own finances. They’re no strangers to the gym, the voting booth, online investing sites, or the day-to-day management of their 401(k)s, and they’re joining an already active and savvy group of Americans 50+ and beyond who are determined to leave their mark on the world. Novelli knows that there’s strength in numbers and that 50+ Americans can seize the day by:

–Working to transform health care not only by demanding quality care and lower pharmaceutical costs, but also by engaging in healthy lifestyles and preventive care

–Creating a secure retirement by planning personal finances well in advance and working to make Social Security solvent for all Americans

–Revolutionizing the workplace so those of us who want or need to continue working can do so in a way that benefits everyone.

–Building livable communities with improved housing, transportation, and services, allowing all Americans to age in place.

–Changing the marketplace by driving the development of innovative products and services that add value to 50+ lives, and using collective purchasing power to make them affordable

–Advocating for causes that will really make a difference

–Creating a lasting legacy so we can leave the world a better place than we found it.

By discovering the possibilities that lie within all of us, we can ignite a twenty-first-century revolution to make America better and stronger. If you’re 50+, Bill Novelli has a message for you: The best is yet to come.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Excellent read
This book is an excellent read from the vantage point of a middle aged reader and from a general business standpoint. Bill Novelli is a brilliant man. For the past six years I have thrown the AARP solicitations in the circular file but after reading the book I intend to join the organization.

5 Stars A hard-hitting social observation all general-interest lending collections will want.
50+ examines the revolution happening among American baby boomers, who are refusing to enter peacefully into retirement but are starting up new careers, super-charging volunteer efforts and directions, and are changing the idea of the aged in this country. Author Bill Novelli is CEO of AARP and in prime position to observe and comment on all this change: 50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America is a hard-hitting social observation all general-interest lending collections will want.

5 Stars If you don’t have something nice to say…
If you look for value and things to gain and learn from a book like, “50+ Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America,” you can always find them; if you look for content to justify a negative and critical view (such as the prior two reviews), you can always find those too. It all comes down to what YOU choose to look for.

I found Bill Novelli’s book uplifting and inspiring, calling more on baby boomers to commit themselves (in actions vs. words) to make the world a better place. I am a baby boomer and if I want to find reasons to make a difference in the world and leave it better than I found it, I can always find them; if I want to find reasons (a.k.a. excuses) not to, I can find those too.

Novelli’s book will be a tonic for me at those moments when I am teetering towards a defeatist attitude.

What has inspired me most of the book is Novelli’s career path, realizing and then acting upon the fact that “Wealth is what you take from the world, worth is what you give back.” He could have focused on becoming rich, but instead turned it to enriching the world.

-Mark Goulston, M.D.

“Leading Edge” columnist

Fast Company magazine

2 Stars A very long AARP PR piece
This book is essentially a very long AARP PR piece, nothing more.

It might be an interesting read for a young person looking to discover what the aging boomers have planned. And the plan is not a pretty one for young people. Despite claims by Novelli that he is working towards a better world for everyone, in typical boomer fashion, he is working to reshape the world so that it works for his demographic (aging boomers) and everyone else can just smile and fit in.

2 Stars More of a Rehash of Myths than Groundbreaking
Book Report on “50+,” by Bill Novelli, the CEO of AARP

By George Fulmore

November 26, 2006

I bought and read the book by CEO AARP Bill Novelli, “50+,” with the expectation that it would stress the positives about how Americans can “reinvent” themselves in retirement, while avoiding any acknowledgment that the bulk of today’s American retirees are thoroughly enjoying a traditional retirement lifestyle.

I wasn’t disappointed. I think that is what the book is all about.

But in addition to the lack of balance in the book, it includes, purposely, I must assume, some very misleading numbers. Let’s look at a couple:

The first comes in a discussion about working in retirement, when Novelli says, “A full 80 percent of boomers say they expect to keep working, either full- or part-time after they hit so-called retirement age.” He should be ashamed of himself. This is total misinformation, based on a ridiculous interpretation of a survey AARP did several years ago in calling about 1,200 people, aged 38-57. The survey asked, “Thinking about your employment status in later years, which of these (following answers) best describes what you think you will be doing when you retire?” Of the six possible answers offered, 20% of those called picked “Not work at all.” If any of the other answers were picked, this has been interpreted as saying that the person expects to keep working in retirement.

If you look under my name via a Google search, you’ll find a column I wrote several years ago on this subject. The bottom line is that the 80% interpretation was a farce from the start. It is awful to see Novelli continue to promote it under the auspices of The AARP. It is nonsense, and I think he knows it.

The second out-right fib comes in that same section, when Novelli says that a Boomer who works full-time between ages 62 and 66, then takes Social Security, will earn more than 40% more than if he/she were to begin Social Security at age 62. To get to 40% or more, he must be comparing the current value at 62 with a projected value at 66, including COLA increases. Even then, I don’t see how he gets “more than 40%.” The truth is that the benefit value at 62 is essentially the present value of the value at 66, four years later. But during those four years, you are not receiving any Social Security income, if you delay to age 66.

Most in the business will tell you that it is not until age 82 that you would begin to creep ahead in total benefits received, if you were to delay benefits to age 66, rather than take them at 62. In other words, it takes about 18 years AFTER age 66 to end up with the same total amount of Social Security benefits one would receive by starting at age 62. Why doesn’t he give us this side of the story instead of his misleading percentage?

Moving on, Novelli and The ARRP are placing a heavy bet that they can speak for Boomers when they say, “Traditional retirement simply is not a good fit for boomers….” Who can really speak for this massive group of about 76 million who have an age range of 18 years? That is essentially the width of a generation, itself.

ARRP is betting that Boomers are different from those before them. They will live longer. They will have more years in retirement. But are these really compelling reasons to continue to work rather than retire? I think when Novelli says, “More and more people will be considering retirement at 72 than 62….,” he’s blowing smoke.

In 2008, when the first of the Boomers can sign up for Social Security, I predict that at least 60% of those eligible will do so, shattering one of the greatest myths promoted by The AARP. I can’t wait.

And how about this for another great myth: “Seventy-five or even fifty years ago, people aged more rapidly than they do today.” Sounds good, but there is no reference to any scientific proof of this. And how about, “Even people in their seventies or eighties don’t see themselves as old….” Obviously, that is an optional choice - to see oneself as not “old” — but does it really mean anything?

And Novelli tells us that AARP has 36 million members. But what he doesn’t mention that it uses a multiplier of 1.6 to get to that number and that the organization is essentially stuck on that inflated number. The truth is that AARP is NOT appealing to Boomers in large numbers and that AARP is very, very worried that Boomers will NOT join AARP in any significant numbers.

But Novelli and The ARRP score points in my mind with the stances on preserving Social Security and with the discussions in the book on the solvency of Medicare. When he brags about AARP’s role in the Prescription Drug legislation, however, he must know that the jury is still out on this Medicare Part D program. Who the real winners will be has yet to be determined. And there is a real possibility that there will be NONE. We might all be losers because of this full-of-holes program, especially if its outrageous costs are used by those who have wanted to privatize and dismantle Medicare from the start.

The promo text in the book’s inside cover says, ” 50+ is a call to arms. It’s a groundbreaking look at the revolution that’s going on right now among 78 million American baby boomers.” I don’t find the book to deliver much of anything that is “groundbreaking.” There is one brief section that appeals to me. It reads, in part, “The period we have traditionally called retirement can be a wonderful time of life…filled with opportunities to live and love, to learn and to explore, to give back, to enjoy the life we have worked so hard to own, to seek significance, and to discover that personal fulfillment is the final piece of the new American Dream.”

So, what is all this “igniting a Revolution” stuff all about? Is there really anything new under the sun? If not, the book is primarily a rehash of thoughts and ideas found elsewhere that Novelli and AARP use as if it they belong to them.

The bottom line with Novelli and AARP, I think, is that they cannot get past encouraging folks to work as long as possible: “These are the years of both tremendous change and self-discovery. Continued work, learning, spending time with grandchildren, traveling and community service all can nourish our sense of well-being.” Now, of that list, what would seem to be out of place for the typical retiree? If you picked “work,” you’re right. But Novelli puts it as the first one on the list!

And in a section on legacies, the author tells us of an Olga Murry, who when hiking in Nepal found the work she was “dreaming of.” She works with an orphanage there and starts a foundation. She finds happiness this way, and gives us a quote that says, “When it’s over, I don’t want…to end up simply visiting the world.” What’s the message here? That folks who choose to and can afford to travel for pleasure are missing the boat of reinventing themselves in retirement?

In my mind, the main problem with AARP is that it speaks for itself, rather than for its members and its natural constituency — the many, many of who live under the umbrella of a traditional retirement lifestyle and are happy about it. Novelli and AARP should be more honest with their readers and admit to an anti-retirement bias in the first place. Again, I think that is what the book is really all about!