The American dream

Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are more likely than the general adult populace to vote, play the lottery, remodel their home or live in a household that owns/leases at least three vehicles, writes MarketingCharts, citing Mediamark Research Inc.'s BoomerView service.

Asked about unique behaviors in the last 12 months, over half of Boomers (55 percent) reported voting in a federal, state or local election; almost one-third (30.8 percent) undertook a home remodeling project; and 41 percent say they played the lottery - making them respectively 22 percent, 21 percent and 18 percent more likely than the general adult population to have engaged in these activities.

Moreover, perhaps driven in part by Boomers' relatively high incomes and wealth, 35.6 percent report they live in a household that owns or leases 3+ vehicles.

BoomerView is a set of generational segments in the Survey of the American Consumer that provides a detailed view of the Boomer market as well as the generations that precede and follow it.

Boomers are also optimistic, according to the study: Almost four in 10 Boomers (39.1 percent) think their households will be better off financially one year from now. And close to 90 percent say they think they themselves will be financially "better off" or "the same" one year from now.

But optimism is a double-edge sword. BoomerView observes a fairly large portion of Boomers are potentially unprotected financially in the face of serious medical issues: Almost one-quarter (23.3 percent) report lacking personal medical, hospital or accident insurance.