There's no doubt about it, we're all getting older with Baby Boomers leading the way. David Walker, the U.S. comptroller general, described the situation as being hit by "a demographic tsunami" that will "never recede." There will be lots of changes in society and business. Here are some articles to help you sort it all out.

From Business Week: Still Working and Loving It
"With an estimated 20% of the U.S. workforce age 55 or older by 2012, up from 14% in 2002, "employers are going to need to hire people of any age as long as they have the experience the company needs," says Mary Young, a senior researcher for strategic workforce planning at the Conference Board.

That's good news for those graying masses who want to stay in the game. And there is no shortage of them. A 2005 Merrill Lynch (MER) survey of more than 3,000 boomers reported that 83% intend to keep working in retirement, and 56% of that 83% hope to do so in a new profession. Those boomers who don't change careers will be able to shift gears at their current companies or take their skills to another occupation."

From the newswires: Study Concludes That Workforce Instability Is Number One Fear of HR Professionals
"More than two-thirds of human resource (HR) professionals feel that attracting and retaining workers is the biggest threat to bottom-line profitability, according to a survey released today by Oklahoma City-based Express Personnel Services, an international staffing and human resource company with nearly 600 offices in 47 states and three other countries (Canada, South Africa and Australia).     As the economy continues to grow and the Baby Boomers retire, companies are facing stiffer competition for top talent. That doesn't bode well for employers. Nearly half (47%) of the responses from HR professionals indicated employee retention was their No. 1 concern."

From the news wires: Recent Survey Shows Most Organizations Not Prepared for Talent Shortage Fueled by the Retirement of Baby Boomers
"A whitepaper entitled, "Managing Talent in the Face of Workforce Retirement," which summarizes key findings of Knowledge Infusion's "2010 Talent Readiness Assessment." The study found that most organizations, particularly larger ones, are not ready for the pending talent shortage caused by the looming retirement of 78 million workers age 55 and over. The whitepaper includes key business considerations as well as an action plan for readers and can be downloaded for free by registering at www.cornerstoneondemand.com.

"With more than 75 percent of participating organizations recognizing that the aging workforce will somewhat or significantly impact their company's ability to execute on goals and strategies during the next four years, this loss of talent is a very real problem for organizations today," said Heidi Sprigi, President, Knowledge Infusion. "Organizations can avoid reductions in productivity and work quality by creating and deploying Talent Management strategies that include systems, processes, and governance for assessing potential skill and competency gaps and addressing them through succession planning, knowledge management, rewards and recognition programs."

Conducted by Knowledge Infusion, the survey, entitled "2010 Talent Readiness Assessment" looked at responses from nearly 400 HR professionals representing both small and enterprise-size organizations across multiple industries. Results indicate that:

* Organizations with more than 2,500 employees indicated that approximately 1 in 5 workers are over the age of 55;
* Over 50% of respondents said the retiring workforce will cause a knowledge/skill gap; and yet
* Less than 30 percent of organizations who responded had a retention plan in place."

From the Wall Street Journal: The American Population
"Today, the U.S. stands out as the only leading industrial power -- over time India could prove the other -- with a surging population. Due to immigration and higher birth rates, the U.S. population is now growing two to three times faster than South Korea's and Britain's, and also far faster than China's. Our other major competitors, such as Russia, Japan and Germany, are either demographically stagnant or are already about to start losing population."

From the Economist: A Special Report on the Ageing Workforce
"The workforce is ageing across the rich world. Within the EU the number of workers aged between 50 and 64 will increase by 25% over the next two decades, while those aged 20-29 will decrease by 20%. In Japan almost 20% of the population is already over 65, the highest share in the world. And in the United States the number of workers aged 55-64 will have increased by more than half in this decade, at the same time as the 35- to 44-year-olds decline by 10%.

Given that most societies are geared to retirement at around 65, companies have a looming problem of knowledge management, of making sure that the boomers do not leave before they have handed over their expertise along with the office keys and their e-mail address. A survey of human-resources directors by IBM last year concluded: “When the baby-boomer generation retires, many companies will find out too late that a career's worth of experience has walked out the door, leaving insufficient talent to fill the void.”

Some also face a shortage of expertise. In aerospace and defense, for example, as much as 40% of the workforce in some companies will be eligible to retire within the next five years. At the same time, the number of engineering graduates in developed countries is in steep decline."

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