As a baby boomer myself, it never ceases to amaze me at how much emphasis is put on early retirement for our segment of the population. While it may be that some of us will work beyond the mandatory retirement age of 65 out of necessity, there are still a surprisingly large number of boomers who will choose to be employed in some way, shape, or form, well beyond the traditional age of retirement. Statistically, we are a group of educated, bright, intellectually savvy, individuals. Can we continue to make a difference as we enter the golden years of our supposed retirement? You bet!

There is, in fact, a bold new wave of baby boomer entrepreneurs who are starting businesses. For some, their best client/s are the organizations for whom they previously worked who are now willing to pay for their expertise on an outsourced basis. For others, it is a prime time to start over and do something they might have always wanted to do, but either didnt have the time for in the past, or who wouldnt take the risk while they were raising their families.

Some of the facts below might surprise you. Take a moment (especially if you are a boomer), to see if you can relate to any of these statistics:

- Boomers are better educated than previous generations Boomers are much more ready, willing, and able to take on the challenges of continued employment in a diverse work environment

-30% of leading edge boomers, aged 55-59, have a bachelors degree or higher, which is up 25% from just six years ago, according to Census Bureau statistics.

- Aging boomers, as well as those who are now in their 60s and 70s, have also shown a propensity to continue their education. The latest statistics from the Department of Education show that the number of Americans between the ages of 45 and 69 enrolled in adult education classes increased 23%, from 22.6 million in 1995 to 27.9 million in 1999.

- Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the number of Americans 55 to 64 categorized as self-employed in non-agricultural industries has increased 29%, from 1,434,000 in July, 2000, to 1,846,000 as of July, 2005. The number of self-employed 65 and older has grown 18%, from 641,000 in 2000 to its current level of 756,000.

- The largest number of self-employed workers is represented by late boomers those 45 to 54 years-olds who make up nearly 2.6 million, or 27%, of the nations 9.6 million self-employed.

- Boomer-and-older entrepreneurs now account for 54 percent of self-employed workers, which is up from 48.5 percent in 2000.

While self-employment was expanding among boomers and older workers, it was stagnant or falling for almost every other age group. The biggest group of self-employed workers in 2000 were the 35-44 year-olds, who numbered 2,790,000. Currently, their numbers have fallen 15 percent to 2,359,000, while self-employment has risen by only 1% among the 25-34 year-olds.

What does this tell us? Dont ever underestimate our generations impact on changing the face of retirement. There are approximately 76 million Baby Boomers who were born after World War II, between the years of 1946 and 1964. We represent the single largest demographic group in the USA. You and I are a part of the future - and we can have a profound impact on the economy both from the perspective of new job creation and by the decreased tax burden that we represent to the labor force; not to mention the self-satisfaction we can achieve by doing something that is exciting, motivating, and rewarding. Go Boomers, Go!

(Sources: Dept. of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.)