Two bits of news came out in the past week that should have you thinking about changes in your business. The first bit of information came from the 2010 U.S. Census Report. There are 308 million people living in the United States. The second piece of information is that the baby boomers are beginning to turn 65 in 2011.

Here is the second thing you should notice about the news. Boomers were betting on two things being in place when they retired: their house would be worth more than they paid for it and their employer’s funded retirement account would be at its zenith in assets the day they punched the time clock for the last time. What they did not anticipate was the fact that the economy would be the worst it has been in their lifetime. They have built retirement wealth in home equity and Wall Street profits, only to see it all go away in the past two years. And there is not a lot of encouraging signs that it will get better in the next couple of years. This will cause many Boomers to find a way to keep working. However, they will not be able to keep working their current job and keep all of their Social Security benefits. The full retirement age for drawing Social Security benefits without a penalty for going over meager earning limits is being raised from 65 to 67 during the next few years. This should be the other thing that you should take note of in your business planning for 2011. The Boomers putting off their retirement past the age of 65 will have to find a new job with a reduction in hours to collect all of their Social Security benefits.

Here comes 2011 dragging a lot of changes to our workforce along with it. How can you take advantage of these changes? For one, realize that your business might benefit from the insight of a smart boomer. Putting a senior citizen on your staff to teach your youngsters a thing or two may be the best hire you could make in the coming year. You can pay this person on a consulting basis, so it does not contribute to a larger payroll tax burden. This gives the Boomer the flexibility to remain a contributing member of the work force, but gives them some freedom in setting their own schedule. Realize also that there will be plenty of Boomers who, after getting stiffed by a corporate job that either cut them loose or are shedding benefits, will try to make one last run at starting their own business. You may be able to outsource some of your traditional in-house work to them. Expect small business start-ups with Boomers to increase significantly in 2011 over 2010. Before you hire new staff members, you may want to check out what is happening on the small business scene. Outsourcing may become the new norm for the next couple of decades if this trend remains. 2011 will begin a test of a new business environment where aging workers with the knowledge of how business runs are looking for a place to work that fits their part time needs. A good business plan will anticipate this change to the way we do business.

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Census Winners and Losers, Newsy.com. December 22, 2010