Opinion: Retiring Boomers Could Leave Legacy of Charity

Baby boomers reaching retirement age are increasingly looking to start new careers with social missions, which could lead to the generation being remembered “more for what they did in their 60s than for what they did in the Sixties,” writes columnist Nicholas D. Kristof in The New York Times.

The highest-profile example to date is the transition of Microsoft founder Bill Gates from the head of his company to a full-time role at his foundation, but Mr. Kristof says more retirees are charting similar courses. Those retiring from successful careers have much to offer in the world of philanthropy, such as their management experience and contacts, Mr. Kristof writes.

Rob Mather, a former management consultant who founded the organization Against Malaria, has seen the efforts of his organization lead to reduced numbers of malaria cases in some parts of Africa.

“If more people take on encore careers like that, the boomers who arrived on the scene by igniting a sexual revolution could leave by staging a give-back revolution,” Mr. Kristof writes.

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