Mass Retirement For Boomers Adds Urgency To Insurance Talent Search

The Risk Institute at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business recently released data from its Fifth Annual Survey. Ninety-five percent of firms reported impending impact due to the mass retirement of baby boomers, with 60% saying it will have a high to moderate impact.

Approximately 75 million Americans were born between 1946 and 1964, the most common parameter for the baby boom cohort. That means that the youngest of them are just 10 years or fewer from retirement age.

The mass retirement of an entire generation is looming on the horizon and will alter the American economy, workforce and general livelihood, the OSU survey found.

That situation will be exacerbated by two other demographic and economic factors. Because of smaller populations of younger generations as well as the Great Recession, many companies will not have enough younger workers with the experience to completely replace the retiring boomers, particularly in areas such as information technology (IT), finance and customer service.

That talent gap, in turn, can hamper a company’s overall effectiveness and bottom line. Businesses can protect their organizational health and bottom lines by approaching this workforce shift with a strategic mindset and developing a resilient risk strategy.