Press Center: News Releases
AARP Launches Opinion Leader "2020 Vision Forum" Series
First Forum Focuses on How the Aging of the Boomers Impacts the Workforce / News Release
April 19, 2006
Today, AARP held the first in a series of opinion leader forums. The "2020 Vision Forum: Boomers and the Workplace Revolution" stimulates debate with key workforce stakeholders on the demographic shifts and trends of the 50+ workforce.
AARP CEO Bill Novelli hosted a panel discussion of leaders in business and education, moderated by CNBC's Maria Bartiromo. Panelists included Ramani Ayer, Chairman and CEO of The Hartford, Jane Friedman, President and CEO of HarperCollins, Daniel Pink, Wired magazine contributor and author of Free Agent Nation, and Dr. Shirley Pippins, President of Suffolk County Community College.
Novelli said of the 2020 Forum, "AARP is a catalyst that brings employers, workers, government agencies and interested organizations together to plan for the demographic revolution about to take place in America's workplaces."
Reports indicate that boomers have the health, creativity and ambition to lead in the workforce well beyond traditional retirement age. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of workers in the 55-and-older group is projected to grow by 49.3 percent over the next eight years, four times the 12 percent growth projected for the overall labor force. To meet this demographic revolution, AARP brought together key policy makers and opinion leaders at the 2020 Forum.
At this 2020 Forum, business, academic and community leaders heard how boomers are reshaping the American workplace. An interactive discussion examined how we as a society can best go about ensuring that suitable work opportunities are available to retain an older workforce as the pool of younger workers shrinks while encouraging employers to expand employment opportunities, training and flexible or "phased" retirement options to retain their boomer workers.
Future 2020 Forums will focus on how the baby boom generation will transform healthcare, technology, housing, political power and entertainment arenas as they age.
AARP's 2020 Vision Forum takes an optimistic look at the ideas and trends shaping the 70 million-strong Boomer generation. The forums convene an elite audience of U.S. opinion leaders, including policymakers, members of the business community, labor workers, NGOs, and others, for frank and interactive discussions on what the future will look like for Boomers. In addition to "Boomers and the Workplace Revolution," AARP will explore healthcare, technology, housing, political power and entertainment issues at future forums in 2006 around the country.