Older Workers: GAO-08-630T.

LABOR supply; WORKFORCE planning; RETIREMENT; PERSONNEL management; EMPLOYMENT of older people; EMPLOYEE recruitment; UNITED States. Social Security Administration; RECORDS retention

The federal workforce, like the nation's workforce as a whole, is aging. As experienced employees retire, they leave behind critical gaps in leadership and institutional knowledge, increasing the challenges government agencies face in maintaining a skilled workforce. We and others have emphasized the need to hire and retain older workers as one part of a comprehensive strategy to address expected labor shortages. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), as the government's central personnel management agency, is responsible for helping agencies manage their human capital. The Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging asked GAO to discuss (1) the age and retirement eligibility trends of the current federal workforce, (2) the strategies federal agencies are using to hire and retain older workers, and (3) our observations on how these strategies position federal agencies to engage and retain older workers. To address these objectives, we analyzed demographic data from OPM's Central Personnel Data File, and interviewed officials at OPM and selected federal agencies. OPM is taking action to address past recommendations related to better assisting agencies in using personnel flexibilities. GAO is making no new recommendations at this time. Governmentwide, about one-third of federal career employees on board at the end of fiscal year 2007 are eligible to retire between now and 2012. Many of these workers are concentrated in certain agencies. For example, nearly half of employees on board at the end of fiscal year 2007 at the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Transportation, and at the Agency for International Development and the Small Business Administration, will be eligible to retire by 2012. The proportion of workers eligible to retire is also expected to be high in certain occupations, including those considered mission critical, such as air traffic controllers and customs and border protection agents, where more than half of the employees will be eligible at that time. Retirement eligibility will be especially pronounced among the agencies' executives and supervisors--over 60 percent of career executives are projected to be eligible by 2012. Federal agencies have a variety of flexibilities at their disposal to help them recruit and retain older workers, including using temporary hires to address short-term needs and rehiring retired federal workers. However, we found that agencies have not always been aware of the full range of available flexibilities. One agency we reviewed--the Social Security Administration--is particularly at risk of losing a substantial portion of its workforce to retirement and has used a variety of strategies to hire and retain older workers, including offering recruitment, retention, and relocation bonuses. Other agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, have developed alternative approaches to attract experienced workers to meet their mission needs. Moreover, certain... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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