Tell Congress Where You Stand - Act Now
Download the whitepaper by By Todd Smith, CFAR
In the United States, people are living significantly longer. Today, US census data tells us that our average life expectancy is 79.4 years old – a full ten years more than 50 years ago (69.6 in 1955).
Roughly half of small business owners in the U.S. are now over the age of 50, and a large share of first-generation founders are approaching, or well past, traditional retirement age. Longer, healthier lifespans mean many owners are choosing to stay active in leadership far longer than their parents did, sometimes well into their 70s and 80s. This happens for good reasons leading generation members still want meaning in their lives well into their traditional retirement years. They may also be reliant on the operating company as a source of income in their planned retirement years. And, frankly, it can be difficult to let go of something a founder has spent their entire life building. These factors, among others, can discourage “letting go” of control.
As one can imagine, this choice to retain control has consequences. Though they are not universal – in some family systems, early work on the concept of stewardship keeps the family in alignment during an extended transition; in others, the perceived lack of control and/or feelings of infantilization can become all-consuming. Regardless, for the following generations to thrive together a new balance must be struck.
Download the whitepaper by By Todd Smith, CFAR
About CFAR
CFAR is proud to deliver our management consulting services to clients, with a commitment to unleashing potential and maximizing impact. We have, for more than three decades, provided guidance and expertise to tackle the thorniest issues—ones often rooted in a misalignment between important organizational goals and individual beliefs about what it will take to achieve them. We come to our work as curious problem-solvers. Our heritage as the Wharton School’s only multi-disciplinary, applied research center lives on in our continued dedication to advising leaders on complex organizational issues where both people and performance matter.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this article. While you’re here, we have a small favor to ask…
As we prepare for what promises to be a pivotal year for America, we’re asking you to consider becoming a supporter.
The need for fact-based reporting of issues important to family offices and hardworking families and protecting a lifetime of savings has never been greater. Now more than ever, family offices and hardworking families are under fire. That’s why Family Enterprise USA Action is passionately working to increase the awareness of issues important to family offices and hardworking families, while continuing to strengthen our presence on Capitol Hill.
Family Enterprise USA Action engages with legislators on Capitol Hill on behalf of family offices, hardworking families, and family-owned businesses. It is focused exclusively on the critical tax and economic policies that impact them. Since 1995, FEUSA Action has been the leading advocacy group working daily in Washington, D.C., to reduce and eliminate estate tax, gift tax, and generation skipping transfer tax while blocking increased income and capital gains taxes, the creation of a wealth tax, and other hostile policies that punish hardworking taxpayers and success in the U.S. It is a bipartisan 501.c4 organization.