Talent Shortage Looming

With baby boomers poised to retire, employers need to start planning for the future, experts say.

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Employers need to start planning for a looming workplace talent shortage as legions of baby boomers approach retirement, according to the Life Options Institute, a New York-based retirement planning group.

"The coming talent shortage may force employers to overcome their age bias and introduce new opportunities with which to utilize this powerful asset," Joan Strewler-Carter, the group's co-founder said in a statement.

That includes encouraging retirement-age workers to remain on staff on a part-time basis to help train new employees, Strewler-Carter said. She cited a Merrill Lynch Retirement Study released in 2006 that found a growing number of baby boomers were willing to work past retirement.

Baby boomers are currently the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. labor force, according to the Labor Department. By 2014, about 20 percent of the workforce will be made up of workers over 65, estimates show.

Among other challenges, Strewler-Carter said employers will have to learn to adapt to the different needs of working retirees in the years ahead.

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