Did you know that the United States is in the beginning stages of a major brain drain? Baby boomers are starting to retire, and along with them goes a whole lot of knowledge. Experts predict that we're going to have a serious talent shortage very soon because of the retirement of so many experienced workers.

There are about 76 million baby boomers poised to retire, and companies are looking for ways to lure them into staying longer. While we're used to hearing about companies getting rid of older workers who cost them a lot of money in terms of higher salaries and more expensive health care costs, the reality in corporate America is that these older workers are desperately needed.

Companies historically haven't been proactive in getting older workers to train younger workers to do their jobs. They're finally realizing how critical this knowledge transfer may be to their businesses long-term, and management is starting to make arrangements for older workers to work more closely with the younger employees.

One key to managing this transition may be in offering baby boomers more flexibility as they transition into retirement. Studies show that many older Americans would like to continue working some, but would like flexibility and a fair amount of leisure time blended into their work lives. Companies that find a way to meet these requirements will likely have an easier time getting boomers to stick around (at least part time) and teach others what they know.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

A few years back, my buddy Chris taught me about bluegrass music. Because we lived in southwest Virginia, it was easy to go to bluegrass concerts and festivals, and it seemed like half the bars in my area hosted a bluegrass night with live music.

In 2000 and 2001, one of the themes of my education was the great John Hartford. As Hartford fought non-Hodgkins lymphoma, he continued to tour the country, playing an impressive schedule of concert dates and leaving a final legacy of amazing music. I was lucky enough to see him a few times over those two years, and I was left with a bottomless admiration for his skill and dedication. I realized that, like John Hartford, I never wanted to retire. I wanted to love something so much that I would be happy to continue doing it up until the moment of my death.

This was a fantastic revelation, as I also realized that, things being what they are, I would probably never be able to stop working. While my parents' jobs in the military and the government carried hefty pensions, my work in academia was only going to leave me with a small monthly stipend. While my grandparents' generation could look forward to fairly hefty social security checks and private pensions, it was pretty clear that I couldn't count on living off the government teat. Assuming that Social Security still exists in 30 years, I am willing to bet that my monthly checks will cover a few packets of ramen and some cat food, with enough left over for a box of Tic-Tacs.

For some people, the world is divided racially or economically, along gender lines or by political borders. For me, the big divider, at least in the United States, has always been generational.

I was born in 1971, smack in the middle of what would later be called Generation X. I was part of dropoff generation, the calm after the storm, the first generation to undergo wholesale tranquilizing at the hands of school districts and the first generation to come of age under the threat of AIDS. I was also part of the generation that had the unfortunate task of following behind the Baby Boomers.

I don't need to tell you about the Boomers, and I'm disinclined to rehash their legendary exploits. Let's just say that they were the ones who defaulted on student loans while my generation was left begging for college money. They were the ones who complained of censorship while we had to crawl out from under the heavy blanket of classic rock. They were the biggest generation in American history, and one of their number spat on my mother when she was pregnant with me, stating that having children was "irresponsible."

Not that I bear them any ill will, mind you.