Each day from 2011 to 2029, approximately 10,000 Baby Boomers will reach the traditional retirement age of 65. Born between 1946 and 1964, Boomers are the first generation to face preparing for retirement on their own. Since many aren’t ready to leave the workforce when they reach age 65, your company may be affected. Here are four ways the retirement of Baby Boomers might influence your business and what you can do to maintain your staffing needs.
Workplace Flexibility
Baby Boomers typically don’t want to work full-time or be defined by their careers. Because the quality of life is important to them, you should consider offering part-time roles, job sharing, and flex scheduling to accommodate. This opportunity to enhance work-life balance benefits all of your employees.
Additional Job Openings
As Baby Boomers retire, you may experience a shortage of new hires to take over. This is especially true for specialized roles. Because Boomers don’t always pass on their knowledge, skills, and experience to other generations, the lost information doesn’t benefit your company. When you find qualified candidates to fill specialized roles, you probably need to offer them higher compensation to encourage them to work for you.
Later Retirement Age
Since many Baby Boomers don’t have enough savings to retire, a significant number decide to continue working past the typical retirement age of 65. Many didn’t understand the importance of saving early and often. Also, the stock market decline of 2008-2009 caused many Boomers to take their money out of the market and miss the subsequent rebound. Boomers, who invested their money in bonds, faced seven years of low-interest rates and small yields. With salary plateaus common during that time, saving for retirement was difficult. Because Boomers born in or after 1960 aren’t eligible for full Social Security benefits until age 67, many continue to work at least until then.
Difficulty with Workforce Planning
Because Baby Boomers’ retirement dates widely vary, you may experience difficulty in planning your workforce needs. According to an April 2018 Gallup poll, 41% of Boomers expect to work past age 65. This caused concern for lost talent among 80% of manufacturers involved with the poll. Many Boomers aren’t transparent about when they plan to stop working. Even if they have a plan, they may hesitate to share it for fear of being replaced.
Fill Your Hiring Needs
Partner with Barracuda Staffing to fill your hiring needs. Whether you need temporary, temp-to-hire, or direct placement for your light industrial/manufacturing, administrative/professional, construction, warehouse/distribution, or driver roles, we have qualified candidates ready to help you. Reach out to us today!