Here is the unholy surprise: they won't. The older end of the Boomer generation is already at a classic retirement age, and they show no signs of leaving the work force in significant numbers. There are a number of reasons why they won't retire.
They can't afford to. Many Boomers are working in jobs with no pensions. Even those who have pensions coming aren't optimistic about their monthly checks being generous enough to quit working entirely. These Boomers also have lifestyles that demand more than the modest levels that the Depression babies retired into several years ago, and Social Security won't begin to cover these.
The labor force will need them. Boomers are not having enough children to fill the work force as the World War II generation did. There will be many places in the evolving information economy that will be clamoring for anybody with English language and computer skills to fill in. A healthy 80-year-old who isn't looking for a career will do quite nicely, when there aren't a lot of 20somethings looking for work.
They don't want to be a drain on their children. The famous messianic zeal of the Boomers will translate into their last mission in life, which is to stay healthy and not be a burden on the health care system, and to keep working so they will not need their children's government transfer payments to live independently.
Add to this picture the fact that the Boomers grew up healthier than any previous generation, and are entering their senior years in better shape than their forebears. They are, as well, doing so when medical breakthroughs are happening all around them.
Baby Boomers will not go into their golden years working 50 weeks a year; they will not need that much money when their children grow up. They will take jobs for a few months to a year, and then take a few months off when they feel they can afford to. They will do this until they no longer can.
This is what they will call retirement.
There are many things government planners should worry about when forecasting 20 or 30 years down the road. The Baby Boom generation is not one of them.
Bill Crawford, a restaurant manager, is writing a book about Baby Boomers.