By Claire Chandler
Alaska Journal of Commerce

The effects of aging is not a popular subject, but ignoring the issue will not keep people from getting older nor will it do away with the challenges Alaska is soon to face as more baby boomers choose to retire, said Linda Gohl, executive director of the Alaska Commission on Aging.

"People don't want to think about it, but what's the alternative?" Gohl asked.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that there will be a shortfall of 10 million workers in the United States in 2010, because more Americans will retire than the number of young people who will enter the work force, according to the commission.

Alaska's needs extend beyond the demand for more workers. As experienced and skilled baby boomers retire, the state will undergo a brain drain, Gohl said.

The state's growing senior population - who as a group are living longer than their predecessors - will also tax the state's long-term care work force, the commission reported.

The number of Alaskans who are aged 65 or older is expected to triple by 2029 to nearly 140,000 seniors, increasing from 6.5 percent of the current population in 2005 to 17.2 percent, according to demographic projections by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

In an effort to address the looming challenge brought on a growing number of seniors in Alaska and throughout the United States, the state commission on aging is holding a series of five public forums between late February and early June to collect Alaskans' recommendations on topics such as senior employment, work force development for senior services, and the financial security and social well-being of seniors.

All recommendations given during the forums in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Wasilla will be included in the state commission's report to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging in late October. The conference is tasked to develop recommendations for national policy on issues related to aging.

During a public forum held at the Anchorage Sheraton Hotel on April 21, Gohl invited all of the few dozen people in attendance to contribute.

"I don't care how old you are," she said. "It's about us. It's our culture and world, and our life and our future."

The forum's attendees represented a wide cross section of Alaska, including nonprofit and private sector employers, state workers, seniors and people with disabilities.

Participants of the forum met in small groups for more than two hours to form recommendations about increasing employment opportunities and support for seniors, recruiting more people to work in the field of senior services, and assisting seniors' participation in the community.

Several attendees called for a change in the public perception that people work 40 years and then retire to do nothing, saying seniors have a wealth of experience, skills and common sense and are valuable resources not used enough by employers.

Marty Richards, an affiliate assistant professor at the University of Washington's Institute of Aging, was a guest speaker and participant of the forum.

Richards encouraged employers to look for ways to utilize seniors' skills by allowing them to work flexible schedules as they slowly transition from full-time work to retirement.

Comfort Keepers - an Anchorage-based business providing non-medical, in-home care to help people stay in their homes - employs a person who is 83 years old, along with a number of people in their 60s and 70s, and nearly all of them work flexible, part-time schedules, said Jack DeMoss, Comfort Keeper's chief executive officer and owner.

DeMoss said his business benefits from employing people who are past the traditional retirement age.

"I like my older employees," he said. "I don't have problems with them calling in sick or even being sick."

Older workers were described by some of the forum's attendees as punctual, reliable, productive and having a good sense about what is important, among other positive attributes valued by employers.

Fears that older workers will take other people's jobs and promotions is unfounded, said Jeff Kemp, coordinator of the labor department's Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training program.

"There's a fear there that they want to move up the corporate ladder, but nine out of 10 times they don't," Kemp said. "They just want something to do and feel like they are contributing to society."

The commission is scheduled to host public forums in Wasilla on May 19 and Fairbanks on June 3.

Web resources: Alaska Commission on Aging - www.alaskaaging.org; and 2005 White House Conference on Aging - www.whcoa.gov.

Claire Chandler can be reached at claire.chandler@alaska

journal.com.