There’s a storm warning on the horizon, known as the silver tsunami, that’s calling for lots of gray… gray hair, that is. That’s because the wave of Baby Boomers, about 75 million of us born between 1946 and 1964 who account for 29% of the U.S. population, are getting older. And while some are heading off to retirement, many are remaining in the workforce.
“Sixty-two is no longer the stepping off point,” says Brian McNamara, president of Southworth. He’s right. According to the AARP, 69% of Boomers plan to stay on the job beyond the age of 65.
Boomers are pushing off retirement for good reasons; we like our jobs, we’re still healthy, and we like the social networking. In some cases, however, finances are the reason for staying because investments aren’t worth what they were before the economic downturn. Whatever the reason, this workforce trend is expected to continue. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the percentage of workers between the ages of 65 to 74 will increase by 83.4% between 2006 and 2016.