Many boomers plan to live life to the fullest until they’re 100 — or die trying. But many of your boomer clients realize they are in the home stretch — often without plans in place. As you help them prepare, you’ll find them more open than previous generations to planning for their declining years and more willing to talk about end-of-life issues.

Without proper planning, boomers could find themselves vulnerable as they age. They have a higher divorce rate than previous generations. Many don’t have children, and those who do may not be living in the same part of the country as their offspring.

“And many boomers are in blended families,” notes Rhonda Latreille, the 52-year-old president of the Canadian Academy of Senior Advisors in Burnaby, B.C., the organization that confers the certified senior advisor designation. “I have no children, although I have adult stepdaughters. But they have their biological parents and their partners’ parents to look out for. I’d be pretty far down on the pecking order if I was expecting family to take care of me.

“And, of course,” she adds, “boomers don’t want to have to rely on anyone.”

Here are the issues your clients who are boomers should be considering:

> Housing

Boomers have to think about their future housing needs, and some have already made changes. The American Association of Retired Persons reports that 500,000 women over the age of 50 in the U.S. currently live with non-romantic housemates. It’s called the “Golden Girls” movement. Like the women in the 1980s TV sitcom, some single older people are finding that shared housing makes social and economic sense.

“Some of my women friends are talking about lining up other women to live with when they get older,” Latreille says. “The fact is that women often outlive their male partners.”

As well, many boomers will want to stay in their own homes when they get older.

“We’re not going to be happy with the traditional end-of-life model — being institutionalized,” says Nancy Conroy, 58, a retirement planner and president of the Conroy Group in Ottawa. “We’re going to be looking for ways to stay in our homes, looking at products such as reverse mortgages and long-term care insurance.”

Staying at home may mean downsizing, and some boomers are making plans in this direction, as Royal Bank of Canada’s 14th annual home ownership survey indicated this past January. The survey showed that, of Canadian homeowners who are planning to purchase a home in the next two years, a dramatically increased number, 33%, said they will be moving to smaller homes. That’s up from 20% in 2006 and 19% in 2002. Of those aged 55 and over, 37% plan to buy smaller homes.

“For the first time in our surveys, we see signs of the boomers downsizing,” says Catherine Adams, vice president of home-equity financing at Royal Bank in Toronto.

And further down the road? “We’re already seeing a big shift in seniors’ residences,” Latreille says. “They’re offering Tai Chi and Laughing Yoga instead of shuffleboard and darts; yogurt smoothies, wine and cheese parties, and cappuccino bars. Boomers will find more and more ways to incorporate the lifestyle we’re used to into the new aging reality.”

> End-Of-Life Issues

Leading-edge boomers turn 60 this year. Many have lost their parents and are now their families’ senior generation. “There’s no longer a generation between them and the grave,” says Peggy Grall, a transition coach in Freelton, Ont.

Latreille notes three triggers that make people deal with their own end-of-life issues:

> First-Hand-Experience. Many boomers have recently seen elderly relatives pass away. “If a relative has prepared well — or hasn’t prepared well — that will motivate us to put things in place for ourselves,” Latreille says.

> Education. “The more education a person has, the more likely he or she is to address these issues,” she says.

> Religion. “The more fundamental or conservative the person’s religious beliefs are, the less likely that person is to initiate proceedings,” she says.

Many boomers are well educated and “spiritual” rather than religious, adds Latreille.

Boomers will handle end-of-life issues as they’ve handled all other aspects of their lives — doing it their way. For instance, they’re taking a hard look at who will represent them — for personal care and for finances — if a time comes when they cannot speak for themselves.

@page_break@“People with traditional family constellations often automati-cally give these powers to their eldest child,” Latreille says. “But many boomers don’t have traditional family constellations, and many have a much broader definition of ‘family’ than their parents did. They’re giving a lot of thought to whom they’ll hand these powers — thinking about whom they can really trust.

“They know a bad plan can be worse than no plan at all.”

> Estate Planning

Conroy believes financial planners will have to change their approach to estate planning when working with the “me” generation.

“Many boomers like myself don’t have children. They may want to arrange their finances so there’s not much left when they’re gone,” she says. “My husband and I recently paid off our mortgage with inheritance money, then opened a home-owner line of credit for a fairly expensive kitchen extension on our home. I now have my dream kitchen to enjoy for many years. We plan to pay only the interest monthly on the debt, and have no plans ever to pay off the principal because our house is worth considerably more and there will be plenty left when we’re both gone.”

Conroy believes many boomers will want to use the equity in their homes to fund some of their dreams. “They’ll expect their financial planners to help them in this regard,” she says.

Latreille notes a different boomer trait. “Your elderly clients see themselves as stewards of their money, safeguarding it to pass on to the next generation,” she says. “We boomers see our money as our money, but we also have big social consciences. Causes are important to us. We’ll be less likely to leave our estates automatically to our closest relatives. We’re going to give some real thought to inheritances. In the end, you’ll see a lot of generosity from us, but it may be in untraditional ways such as leaving money to green causes.

> Final Exits

“My friends are talking about planning their funerals,” says Grall, 58. “Five years ago, they would have said that was being morbid.”

“Boomer women are especially open to looking ahead,” Latreille notes. “They’re picking out cemetery plots and pre-arranging their funerals. They want to deal with these issues and move on.”

While boomers’ parents believed that thinking about their own deaths would move the event forward, many boomers take a more practical view, says Kat Downey, a “pre-need” funeral director in Aurora, Ont.

“Boomers understand that if they have a plan in place, there will be less of a burden on those they leave behind,” she says. “They are arranging their own funerals, deciding if they want to be buried or cremated, and looking at all the options, including ‘green’ cemeteries and biodegradable coffins.”

Expect many boomers to go out with a bang. The generation that always did it their way is exploring custom caskets, personalized services and ashes incorporated into jewellery or blown out of cannons. They want their final expressions to be as individual as their lives. The funeral industry is gearing up for a wave of non-traditional funerals.

But be warned: that won’t be the case for all boomers. “Part of the cohort is pretty traditional,” says Maureen Osis, president of ElderWise, a Calgary consultancy that helps businesses and families deal with aging issues. “They’ll want a traditional service followed by a reception.”

“Know your client,” her business partner, Mara Osis, cautions, “before making suggestions about these emotional issues.” IE