Wave of federal workers to retire

The Baltimore Sun reports:

The wave of federal workers originally hired to spy on the Soviet Union, launch the Great Society and regulate everyone from polluters to drugmakers in the 1960s and 1970s is beginning to age out of the work force, an exodus that some officials say could drain expertise and diminish the quality of service.

The numbers point to what some call a "retirement tsunami": 60 percent of federal workers are older than 45, and many could retire now if they wanted to, compared with 31 percent in the private sector, according to one think tank.


Experts say that the next five years could see a mass exit of experienced - and loyal - employees at a time when some younger workers see public service as a steppingstone to lucrative private-sector jobs.

Will these workers be replaced?