Peak retirement of baby boomers

Pack Wembley Stadium with pensioners. Now multiply by 10. This is roughly the number of Baby Boomers who will reach retirement age in 2012. Over the past three years the number of people reaching 65 has been increasing dramatically from about half-a million a year to over 800,000: the peak for our generation. The next peak is not due until 2030. This means that over 2% of the working population will retire this year, 50% above the long-term trend. The strategic and leadership implications are numerous and complex: Who will replace the retirees? Who will fund them? Why is unemployment so tenacious if so many are retiring? What will be the leadership style and management needs of the new generation? How do we prevent a huge loss of informal knowledge? How do we engage people beyond retirement age? These questions also need to be placed in the context of a ‘phoney war’ recession, a tilt towards the East and changes to employment legislation. Phew! This first trend will accelerate some of the leadership debates that have been taking place in organisations over the last months: talent strategies / gender diversity / employee engagement and so on. The debate is open: feel free to comment below…