What has more than 160 million legs and the power to change American culture? The baby boomers, that's who. Almost eighty million strong, the boomers (born between 1945 and 1965) are the largest single generation in American history, and they are leaving their mark on every facet of culture. They are the most powerful demographic group of Americans in terms of their influence and buying power in this country. They control the marketplace in lifestyle and leisure spending, health care, real estate, finance and technology.

And, it is estimated that they stand to inherit $10 trillion to $13 trillion dollars in the next decade. This will be the largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in the history of humankind. They will be redefining aging and retirement. Research is showing that only one-third of boomers have adequately planned for their golden years. Over 10,000 baby boomers retire every 24 hours, and many will be engaged in a phased retirement, second careers, or part-time employment beyond the traditional retirement years.

The best part of all this boomer awareness is that credit unions do not have to go hunting for them because they are in our communities and in our membership. All this new business is right under our noses. Credit unions need to wake up, smell the buying power and target market to boomer consumers.