Older workers bring a level of expertise and practical experience that comes only with time. But employers will be reluctant to hire you if your technical skills haven’t kept pace with advances in your field. Increase your odds of landing a good position by boning up on your computer skills and learning what’s going on at the cutting edge of your field.

When you’re ready to begin looking for a new job, talk to your current employer first. Your inside knowledge of the company culture and practices will be hard to replace and the company may be willing to offer you a part-time or consultant position to keep you in the fold.

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According to this Denver Post article, inadequate retirement savings, stagnating pension benefits and cuts in retirement health benefits will make it necessary for some of them to continue working. Others want to stay active, working in a flexible environment that leaves them time for travel, attending classes and leisure activities. Some want to start their own businesses.

“When you look at the boomer generation, it is the people who had the opportunity for the best jobs and education, and that is not us,” said one 60-year-old Latina quoted in the study. Only 23.3 percent of African-American respondents expect to be retired in 10 years compared with 33 percent for Latinos and 37 percent of white respondents.

The good news for those who either need or want to continue working is that they will find a serendipitous shortage of workers in government, health care, teaching and other fields, said Marc Freedman, chief executive of Civic Ventures, a think tank and incubator that works on programs involving older workers.

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When it comes to designing a gym, it’s not all about attracting the hard bodies anymore, and when it comes to senior fitness, there’s more out there than water aerobics.

According to this article, as more of America’s baby boomers start entering their 60s, more startup gyms are homing in on a more mature market.

The business potential is huge, and expanding. Club 50, a fitness chain for the over-40 crowd that has mushroomed to more than 40 franchises since it began in 2003, points out that seniors control more than 70 percent of the country’s disposable income. And the oldest of the baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, started turning 60 last year.

In less than 25 years, there will be more than 71 million 65-year-olds, twice as many as there were in 2000, according to the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

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According to DeseretNews, a wave of baby boomers may be hobbling toward retirement in worse health and with more aches and pains than people born before them, according to federally funded research. They have more trouble climbing stairs, easing themselves out of a living-room Barcalounger and crouching to hug a grandchild, according to a survey of about 5,000 people born from 1948 to 1953 and released by the National Bureau of Economic Research earlier this year. They smoke less, may be more aware of what’s good and not so good for their bodies and have access to an ever-growing array of treatments and medication. But they said they hurt more, drink more, suffer more depression and experience more chronic health conditions than people born just before and during World War II.

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Those who leave the work force unexpectedly, perhaps because of poor health, may also experience sharper declines in expenditures beyond what might be associated with the end of their working lives. The average household seems to plan well. But there is a segment — perhaps upward of 25 percent — that doesn’t plan well and these people do experience a decline, maybe as a result of a health shock. The focus should be on understanding who these households are and what they’re about.

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To help baby boomers re-evaluate where and how they live and help make it easier for them to find a home that fits the next chapter of their lives is the purpose of the book “Rightsizing Your Life: Simplifying Your Surroundings While Keeping What Matters Most,” by Ciji Ware. The use of the term rightsizing instead of downsizing is a good way to market the book, but, more important, it explains the next viable real estate option for boomers who have become empty nesters, are looking to retire, or, as the book suggests, are just finding their “old life just doesn’t fit anymore.” Ware recounts her personal story of rightsizing and cites examples of other people in similar situations. She tells readers of the many emotions they may experience when going through such a process.

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