An issue affecting the workforce today is senior citizens. The main trend dealing with senior citizens is the aging of the population. This is due to the fact that more and more people in the world today are living longer and healthier lives, making the elderly no longer a homogenous group. In the U.S., the population of seniors (aged 65+) was approximately 34.9 million in 2000. This population is expected to grow to 39.4 million in 2010, and is predicted to increase by 75% twenty years after. On a more global scale, approximately 600 million people are aged 60+, and it is predicted to increase to nearly 2 billion by 2050. Along with population aging, the seniors also have to deal with issues such as housing issues, social issues, forced retirement, and health problems, among others. These events dealing with senior citizens affect non-profit as well as for-profit organizations.
             Senior citizens today are affecting the workforce in America as well as globally. In the U.S., a report on workers in the 21st Century entitled Workforce 2020, stated that the trend of population aging "will significantly affect the U.S. workforce in three ways." (Robbins, Schultzer). First, the elders may choose to continue full-time, work part-time, or retire. Think of the impact it will have on an organization when longtime workers with an abundance of knowledge, experience, and skills choose to retire, or employees who continue working and block opportunities for younger and high-skilled employees. Second, the elders begin receiving Social Security and Medicare. Tax rates used to sustain these programs have serious impact for organizations since there will be more workers demanding entitlements and a smaller group of workers contributing dollars to the program budgets. Third, the elders will become a great consumer force driving demand for certain products and services. Industries with high market demand will re
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