It is the largest generation the U.S. has ever seen and now the baby boomers are headed for retirement. Now, a new report says the exodus could strain the national economy. Our Tamara Lindstrom tells us how.

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"They've got a lot of things on their plate at one time," said Ithaca College sociologist Stephen Sweet. "Particularly, in this last year, has been the challenge of dealing with a dramatic economic downturn."

But a new threat is right around the corner.

"The leading edge of the baby boom generation is now entering and transitioning into retirement. And that's going to follow over the course of the next ten years," Sweet said.

A study conducted by the professor and the Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College shows the talent drain caused by retiring baby boomers could alter the national economy.

"There is a general awareness that there is going to be a demographic change. And for many employers, they're reporting that it's going to affect operations in a negative way," Sweet said.

Sweet said the retirement boom could lead to a shortage of more than 10 million workers nationwide. And he said it's a crisis employers are not preparing for.

"They're doing fairly little in terms of identifying succession plans, of gauging the intent of individual workers to retire, Sweet said. "The core concern for many employers is what's called knowledge transfer. To take the existing skills that the retiring population possesses and move that to their replacement workers."

The issue has not gone unnoticed by career counselors.

"Experience is always king, no matter what the economic condition or the profession," said John Fracchia, associate director of Career Services at Ithaca College. "What we as universities and as colleges are trying to do is to encourage students to get experience beyond the classroom."

But Sweet says it is up to the companies to prepare for the draining of the talent pool.

To see the full report, visit agingandwork.bc.edu/documents/IB23_TalentMangmntStudy_2009-10-23.pdf.