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Are employers prepared to lose Boomers to retirement? Is our demographic poised to explode a bomb in the nation’s workforce? Many economists think it may.
They warn that employers are unprepared to lose those 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 who have made such an impact on society (good or bad) every step of the way.
Boomers still make up a full one-third or more of the nation's work force, filling many of its most skilled and high-level jobs. And thanks to our type-A work
habits, we are among the most aggressive, creative and demanding workers out there.
Arlene Dohm, an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, D.C. said a few years ago that certain industries and professions that are going to be very hard hit by the prospect of this retiring demographic.
This prediction might have experience a hitch, however, with the economy taking a nosedive and 401K plans tanking at every turn. Some economists contend that we free-spending boomers (1) haven't saved enough to quit, and, (2) are too work-obsessed to leave our careers.
Those of us on the leading edge of the boomer generation are turning 58, just four years shy of being able to collect Social Security, but many question the solvency of the companies for whom they work as well as Social Security itself as we ponder retirement.
In the past, people retired in their early to mid-60s. If that stays consistent, then between now and 2020, tens of millions of people will leave the work force. Generation X follows us with much smaller numbers (we did not produce the number of children our parents did) so the question remains -- will there be enough replacements coming along to pick up the slack?
Some professions saw massive waves of hiring in the ‘60s and '70s, with some of those workers are already retiring. Others have lots of middle-aged employees because of union seniority rules that protect the more experienced workers from layoffs, but many of those may be leaving soon as well.
According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the professions expected to be hit the hardest are airline pilots, special-education teachers, industrial engineers, management analysts and photographers, to name a few.
Immigration may help to pick up the slack left behind by some of these vacancies, injecting new recruits into the work force, while some companies welcome the opportunity to trim their payrolls through boomer attrition.
A University of Michigan survey a few years ago showed the percentages of Boomers who expect to work past normal retirement age is continuously rising, with approximately 57 percent of older boomer men and 45 percent of older boomer women expressing their desire to work past age 62.
There is much to be said for Boomers’ reputation for sound judgment as well as a maturity level that has little equal, according to experts in many industries, even if younger workers bristle at the notion
Among the options likely to grow more commonplace for Boomers are part-time work, job sharing; flex-time, and consulting – just what those of us who have been-there-done-that have in mind as we ease off the pedal.
It is unlikely that Boomers will retire the way their parents did, wishing instead to stay engaged and start second careers in fields that have always held fascination for them – even taking risks by starting small businesses, especially if our aptitude for technology does not approach those of the next generation.
One thing we know for sure. With us as a work force, it is always best to expect the unexpected.
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