Legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate last week aimed at making it easier for older Americans to stay in the workforce longer and encourage employers to recruit and retain older workers. The bill has bi-partisan sponsorship of Senators Gordon H. Smith (R-OR), Herb Kohl (D-WI), and Kent Conrad (D-ND).

I’ll have more on this in a future column over at RetirementRevised, but here are key provisions, according to a press release from the sponsors:

- Removing penalties in certain pension plans for workers who phase into retirement by receiving a lower salary while working reduced hours;

- Allowing seniors to earn delayed retirement credits for Social Security purposes for an additional two years until age 72, instead of age 70;

- Reducing the amount of Social Security benefits lost to seniors who claim benefits before reaching normal retirement age and while they continue working;

-Forming a National Resource Center on Aging and the Workforce within the Department of Labor to collect, organize and disseminate older worker information;

- Changing how Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) annuities are calculated by correcting a glitch that results in a disproportionate reduction in benefits for certain employees who phase into retirement by working part-time;

- Requiring states to include older worker representatives on the state and local workforce investment boards and set aside five percent of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funds to assist older individuals;

- Expanding eligibility of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include older workers; and

- Clarifying that certain defined benefit pension plans can define normal retirement age under their plans as the earlier of (1) the attainment of a specified age or (2) attainment of 30 or more years of service.

Kohl chairs the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging; Smith is its ranking member. A recent committee hearing on the bill is available as a webcast [requires Real Player].

Our friend Jeff Williams of Bizstarters is taking his act on the road, with a series of “Ultimate Boomer Business Start-Up Workshops” York, Chicago and Boston this June.

“We’ve learned from working with hundreds of Boomer entrepreneurs that many just want to run their business part-time and so are looking for a quick, easy way to launch,” says Williams. “We’ve spent more than a year designing a one day workshop and follow up coaching group to get our Boomer clients open for business quickly”.

The seminar is designed for individuals who have a pre-existing business idea and who want to be well on their way to launching their business at the end of the one day workshop.

Details and registration information on the workshop can be found here

Despite a reeling economy, the job market for college grads is robust, as companies prepare for an expected wave of Boomer retirements. The Chicago Tribune’s Barbara Rose reports that corporate recruiters have “continued to swarm onto college campuses. Career fairs sold out, as employers scrambled to get in front of seniors who hadn’t locked up jobs, as well as sophomores and juniors looking for internships.” Many job candidates report getting multiple offers, and recruiting specialists expect the strong market to persist over the next several years, no matter what happens with the economy. Fueling the market is employer fear of getting caught short-handed as Boomer retirements accelerate. The smaller GenX group coming up behind Boomers won’t fill the gap, so employers want to start grooming the next generation of talent now.

Recruiters probably should calmn down a little, since many Boomers won’t be rushing for the exits unless they’re pushed…and many will be available to work in new flexible consulting arrangements for years to come. Still, as the parent of college-age children, it’s nice to know the job market’s looking good.

Also see…

• Management consultant Bill Byham on brain drain.

• Korn/Ferry survey on re-careering.

The coming wave of Boomer retirements will be the top workforce issue during the coming generation, according to a new survey of senior executives. A Robert Half International survey found 42 percent of senior execs citing the retirement wave as the highest-impact trend, followed by global business interactions (31 percent), outsourcing (11 percent) and remote work arrangements (5 percent). “The looming retirement of baby boomers has captured the attention of business leaders who are concerned about retaining the expertise of their most tenured employees,” said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International. Messmer went on to note that many Boomers will delay retirement or seek out flexible work arrangements, blunting the expected impact.

Has Al Gore grabbed the mantle of Boomer-in-Chief from his old boss, Bill Clinton? Syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman thinks so, arguing that Gore’s striking post-political reinvention as the leading global warming evangelist points the way for an entire generation asking itself what’s next as it starts turning 60:

“The attention on Al Gore’s trajectory from loser to laureate misses something about this second act and second actor. As he approaches 60, Gore’s staking out something of a new path for his generation…[Gore is] the model for what Marc Freedman calls the “encore career.” The head of Civic Ventures, a think tank promoting civic engagement as the second act for boomers, Freedman says, “Gore found himself by losing himself - literally losing - and being liberated from ambition, the idea that there’s a particular ladder you have to scurry up and if you don’t make it to the top it’s all over. Essentially he found a different ladder.”

Gore’s reinvention extends beyond his work on the environment. His recent book, The Assault on Reason, is a remarkable analysis of what’s gone wrong with American democracy and prescription for change.

Put all that together with the Nobel Prize and you’ve got to wonder why he’d even consider returning to his first career in politics.

AARP released it’s list of “Best Employers for Workers over 50″ list for 2007. Although S.C. Johnson topped the list of 50, what caught my eye is the dominance of health care and non-profits in the annual ranking. Companies apply to be listed, and AARP judges the applicants based on a range of human resources practices and policies, including recruiting practices, training, education, career development opportunities and flexible work arrangements. Retiree and health benefits are also considered. It’s interesting to see that business is under-represented here compared with other sectors of the economy. I threw the list on a spreadsheet and did a quick analysis; 52 percent of organizations listed are in the health sector; about a third were publicly-held or private companies like S.C. Johnson.

Business awareness of attracting and retaining older workers does seem to be on the rise; just 22 percent of last year’s AARP listees were public or private companies.