According to a survey of government managers by the US Center for State and Local Government Excellence, many state and local government employees are delaying retirement because of the economic slump.
Almost half of the respondents of the survey said 20 per cent or more of their workers were eligible to retire in the next five years, and the majority said the economy is affecting the timing of retirements. A huge 85% said employees are delaying retirement, while only 9 per cent said they are accelerating their retirements to avoid changes that will reduce benefits.
The survey showed that a majority of government managers (56 per cent) said their government did not have a formal plan to develop their workforce, while 39 per cent said they did. It highlighted the need for for human resource departments to lead workforce planning efforts so that the public sector will be well positioned when the economy recovers.
"There is a silver lining to the delayed retirements," said Elizabeth Kellar, executive director of the Center for State and Local Government Excellence. "Governments have a lot of older workers who work in specialized fields and are hard to replace. Retaining these individuals a little longer gives us more time to help new employees prepare to fill their shoes."
Read more here: http://hr.cch.com/news/hrm/052209a.asp
Comments