Baby Boomer are defined by people born between the years 1946 and 1964. Retirement age as defined by the BLS is 65
The leading edge of Baby Boomers just reached retirement age in 2011 (1946 + 65). So, the bulk of Boomers have not reached retirement age yet.
Many have been involuntarily retired (layed off) but the article is making it sound like Baby Boomers are en masse deciding to throw in the towel early. I bet that’s not true.
I did, as I posted, mostly because it was the Kenyan stripping NASA of funding that was going to kill my job. Had not happened just yet, but I had always been one step ahead of a layoff notice, and did not want to ruin my perfect record.
As I posted in another reply, depriving Obunghole of income tax from a $100k+ income to contribute to his welfare state just cemented my decision. After 40+ years of paying massively into the black hole of the federal money pit, they had enough of me.
Funny, but after I had pretty much cemented my plans (house sold, etc,) another company tried to contact me for an interview. Too late, my thoughts were already elsewhere and the train was gone.
One thing that has changed in the last decade and a half, or so, is that someone’s age can be found on the Internet. Before that, employers were not allowed to ask your age. They could only ask if you were between 18 and 65. Before this happened, if you were young-looking for your age you could cut off part of your resume to make yourself look younger. Now there’s no point in even trying. Nothing shall be hidden. Everything shall be known. It makes a shambles of the age-discrimination laws.
One way around this sometimes is to request a temporary contract rather than an actual hire. This way, they get the benefit of your experience and better work habits without worrying about old-age issues. You don’t get health insurance, for example. You have to focus on the employer’s needs and why they would want someone in their fifties or sixties.