Baby boomers by the numbers:

By JOHN A. CUTTER

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 27, 2001

'Zoomers' rewrite retirement rule The oldest boomers still want what boomers have always craved: everything. They want to retire yet work, kick back yet keep active, have fun and live well. They'll still be rockin' -- just not on the front porch. For him, 55's a milestone on a pleasant stretch of road INDIAN ROCKS BEACH -- Jim Thomas made sure no one could throw him a surprise party when he turned 50 in 1996. Boomer's outlook on aging changes HUDSON -- As Linda Bonasera describes her childhood in New Jersey, she makes it sound like life in a Norman Rockwell painting: "loving family," "such good times," "We were so innocent," "Grandma lived nearby." Baby boomer chronology The baby boomers born in 1946 lived their youth in some of the most exciting and turbulent times. Here, year by year, are some of the events.

Number of babies born in America in 1946 -- 3.4-million.

Percentage increase in births from 1945 to 1946 -- 20 percent.

Year the annual number of births reached 4-million -- 1955.

Year the annual number of births falls back below 4-million -- 1965, the first post-boom year.

Year the annual number of births falls below the 1946 number -- 1972, part of the so-called Baby Bust.

Year the annual number of births again surpasses the 1946 number -- 1979.

Percentage of boomers who say they will move to a new area when they retire -- 21.

Percentage of boomers who expect to struggle to make ends meet in retirement -- 23.

Number of boomers who say they are satisfied with the amount of money they are putting away for retirement -- two-thirds.

Percent of boomers who say their generation needs more money than their parents' generation to live comfortably -- 84.

Percent of boomers who say their generation is more indulgent than their parents' generation -- 75.

-- Sources: "Baby Boomers Envision Their Retirement: An AARP Segmentation Analysis," February 1999, Roper Starch Worldwide and AARP; U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.

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