Employers' Blind Eye for Boomers Slowly Opening to Retirement Realities

All too frequently, baby boomers have to retire earlier than they expect, accept a job requiring a lower skill set, or work longer at their current job to save more for retirement, reports Workforce . With a tight job market looming and the departure of approximately 10,000 boomers on average each day, employers are beginning to see how unready they are to cope with the exodus or manage employees who plan to work longer to save more for retirement. A Willis Towers Watson survey found 83 percent of employers believe a significant number of their employees are at or near 65 years old. Although 81 percent think managing employees moving to retirement is important, only slightly more than 50 percent believe they know when workers will retire. According to Willis Towers Watson's Lauren Hoeck, employers must have a clearer understanding of what influences workers' decisions to stay or retire. For one thing, although 71 percent of employers said employees should have enough money to retire when they want, more than half of workers cited financial concerns and are planning to stay employed after age 70 as a result. The Brookings Institution's Josh Gotbaum argues employers should realize that it is natural that people who are living longer want to extend their working careers. Phased retirement enables employees to gradually transition to not working at all.