Next year for the first time, the Boomer generation will relinquish its position as the #1 generation in terms of percentage of the U.S. population. Taking over will be... who else but the Millennials.

Statistically, it doesn't really matter, but socially, it's a big deal. We are already witnessing the mass cultivation of Millennials with products and services targeting them as Boomers fade in popularity. Similarly, businesses have little compunction when it comes to ejecting a Boomer employee in favor of a Millennial employee.

The Wharton School of Business has something to say about the coarseness of letting Boomers go because of age: "...companies eager to move baby boomers along should be careful what they wish for. For one thing, millennials are less likely to stay in jobs than others, and turnover often carries high hidden costs. For another, few workplaces have mastered a system for transferring knowledge from one generation to the next."

The fact is, age discrimination is widespread across many businesses, putting Boomers in a precarious position because it is difficult to prove and take legal action against an employer who practices age discrimination. According to Wharton professor of legal studies and business ethics Janice Bellace, “It is much more difficult to prove age discrimination than race or sex discrimination." Bellace says the burden of proof that an employee was demoted or fired because of age lies with the employee. “That’s a very heavy burden of proof,” she says. “In real life, if an employer would like to push out an older worker, the employer’s [managers] would have to be idiots not to lay down some paper trail that suggests that there were some other reasons for dismissing the person. It’s even more difficult in a hiring case, because the plaintiff must prove that there was no other reason, except for age, that the employer preferred another candidate.”

Age discrimination will therefore continue to be a big challenge for Boomers, who may need to find non-traditional employment as an alternative, such as becoming self-employed and working on a contract basis.

Some Boomers approach retirement with apprehension, while others are chomping at the bit to start a new life. Jonathan Look decided to retire early -- at age 50 -- and follow his muse. Six years later, he shares some of the things he learned along the way, and they're not all pretty. Still, if you're close to retirement, or already retired, Look's 21 "unvarnished truths" are worth reading and considering. They include such eye-openers as:

• Money is overrated.
• Time is your most valuable asset.
• Your bucket list is crap.
• You can't make people happy.
• Negativity wastes life.

Sounds to me like Look is quite the philosopher. Take a look at his entire list of unvarnished truths about retirement on NextAvenue.org. You may not agree with everything he has to say, but he certainly isn't afraid to be thought-provoking. And if you aren't a subscriber to NextAvenue.org, I suggest you sign up for the free newsletter. It is one of the more valuable information sources for Boomers in pre-retirement and retirement.

Having a sense of purpose in life offers lots of positive benefits, but "purpose" sometimes seems to be a concept that applies only to one's youth. When we're younger, for example, developing a sense of purpose is often associated with job satisfaction, career success, or starting a family.

Shouldn't Boomers have a sense of purpose too? Yes, of course. In fact, recent research suggests purpose is just as important for Boomers, according to a fascinating article, "How to Find Your Purpose in Midlife." Eric Kim of Harvard's School of Health, for example, found that "people who report higher levels of purpose at one point in time have objectively better physical agility four years later than those who report less purpose." Patrick Hill of Washington University "found important advantages for more purposeful adults, including better cognitive functioning and greater longevity."

Another interesting aspect of research into finding purpose in midlife suggests that a particular kind of purpose is of greater significance to Boomers. According to Anne Colby of Stanford University, research showed "Those who were purposeful beyond the self said their lives were filled with joy and happiness.”

The article, which appears in Greater Good magazine, published by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, also offers some tips on developing a sense of purpose. Not surprisingly, one avenue that relates directly to purpose is volunteering. Jim Emerman, vice president of Encore.org, advises, “The key things to think about are: What are you good at? What have you done that gave you a skill that can be used for a cause? What do you care about in your community? Those questions really help one focus.”

As Boomers age, we may want to leave our full-time positions, but we are concerned about generating at least some income to supplement Social Security and retirement savings. On this blog, I've covered a number of ways Boomers can earn part-time income. Here is a handy list of seventeen part-time and creative possibilities, each of which is described in further detail in an article on the Entrepreneur website:

1. Animal caretaker
2. Tour guide
3. Sharing economy "landlord"
4. Market researcher and tester
5. Temp
6. Gardener
7. Babysitter/caretaker
8. Teacher/instructor
9. Seller/consignor
10. Tutor
11. Online mock juror
12. Independent consultant
13. Home cook
14. Mystery shopper
15. Copy editor
16. Movie or TV extra
17. Transcriptionist

Read the entire article here: https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/309408