The first wave of 78-million baby boomers are moving into their 60s creating the biggest demographic shift of the 21st century. With nearly 8,000 people hitting this milestone each day--one person every 10 seconds--there is a great deal of talk about the staggering economic costs of a large, aging society. Author and renowned social entrepreneur Marc Freedman argues that most of this discussion misses an important point: The vast majority of Americans in their 60s and 70s are not old. They are flooding into an entirely new stage of life opening up between the middle years and anything resembling old age.

According to Freedman, it's time to redraw the map of life and create a new stage characterized by purpose, contribution and commitment. "This new encore stage is poised to change the shape of American lives, transforming not only this period but all the other stages of life," Freedman says. "If we play our cards right, those in the new stage could represent a windfall of talent to help solve our nation's most pressing social problems."

"THE BIG SHIFT" (PublicAffairs; April 5, 2011; $24.99), offers a set of specific prescriptions for realizing this opportunity, all of which will help move the transition into the encore years out of the do-it-yourself process that currently reigns. Freedman argues for a package of innovations, including:

• A gap year for grown-ups - to give people the opportunity for renewal and redirection after decades of long hours and accumulated fatigue, while exposing them to new experiences.
• Internships, fellowships and national service programs to provide a chance to give back and acquire the necessary new skills for the next stage of life.
• "Individual Purpose Accounts" (IPAs) to help cover the costs of transitioning to encore careers.
• Remaking higher education to create new ways for people planning on working for 40 or 50 years to retrain and retool along the way.
• An Encore Bill to help those in the encore stage develop their human capital and provide incentives to bring their skills to areas where they are most needed.

Based in San Francisco, Freedman is the founder and CEO of Civic Ventures, a think tank on boomers, work, and social purpose. He spearheaded the creation of Experience Corps, now one of America's largest national service programs engaging people over 55, and The Purpose Prize, which annually provides five $100,000 prizes to social

innovators in the second half of life. fOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO ORDER "the big shift," click on www.encore.org/thebigshift