Remember when President Ronald Reagan fired all those air traffic controllers back in 1981? Well, the folks that replaced those controllers are retiring — and now we’re facing a drastic shortage of trained air traffic controllers. Could that be the future of the American workforce? Are you ready?
A recent article by MIT AgeLab director Joseph Coughlin and research assistant Luke Yoquinto notes that those shortages in crucial workforces aren’t limited to air traffic. Across sectors, the aging of the Baby Boomers is leading to heightened retirement rates. In some fields, that’s no big deal, but others — those with high barriers to entry — are now, already, practically begging for trained workers.
That includes professions like doctors, general practitioners and, ironically, geriatricians. And there are sectors of the economy like agriculture, where in 2012 the average age of principal farm owners was 58.3 and one out of eight are older than 75. The article notes that even the last professionals you’ll ever encounter — funeral directors and morticians — are well into their 50s on average and aren’t being replaced as they retire.
But, as the article notes, the bulk of the issue is far is simpler: We don’t like to think about old age and what it means. “The media generally doesn’t want to cover it, and people don’t want to read about it. It’s just a little too real and makes us just a little too uncomfortable. So, far too often, we grapple with the broad effects of aging only when it’s too late to avoid a bad outcome.”
So, what might it mean for you and your practice?
You’ll find out at the NAPA 401(k) Summit, April 17-19, in Nashville, Tennessee, where MIT AgeLab director Joseph Coughlin will be featured in a General Session topic on “Disruptive Demographics – How the Client & Technology Will Transform the Future of Retirement Advice.”
…and much, much more. Register today (rooms are filling up fast!) at www.napasummit.org.
