Thousands of baby boomers dreaming about the Shangri-La of early retirement may be in for a terrible shock, according to Business Librarian Mike DePue who blogs on the Springfield-Greene County Library's web site at thelibrary.org.

His research of library print and electronic resources shows that nearly 20% of Americans worry that they will never be able to stop working. "Rather than the baby boomer retirement tsunami so recently expected, a trend is developing that has people delaying their retirement," DePue says. "Already, many federal employees already work for another four years after they become eligible for retirement."

DePue says that this trend is likely to have negative consequences on financial institutions and other consumer outlets that have invested "tidy sums in building retirement services components. Sharing the gloom will be retirement community developers, leisure and travel service providers, RV and golf equipment manufacturers and others who are counting on lots of retirees for their services. On the other hand, Social Security and, to some extent, Medicare, should see slower-than-anticipated draw-downs."

You might want to put the retirement party on hold. Financial think tanks are now emphasizing that even one extra year of work can raise your standard of living throughout your retirement, and that, while it may not be a good thing emotionally, delaying retirement is always a good thing financially.
DePue, who's been with the library district nearly 28 years, is taking his own advice. He continues to research business topics from his perch at the Library Center in quarterly print form and on his blog.
Another current entry, "Back on the Rails," is an interesting look at a possible revival of passenger rail service. Amtrak reports that 11% more people rode the rails last year compared to October 2007. DePue's blog links to an article, "Top 10 reasons to travel by train," so compelling that it makes you want to keep the car parked in the garage.

Longtime librarian DePue enjoys the research aspect of blogging and being able to provide information to the public in flexible and informative ways. "I look for current topics of interest to people in their everyday lives," says DePue, "I develop them in reasonable detail, condensing the topics for easy readability, but punctuating them with links for those who want more in-depth information."

Access the blog from the library's home page, clicking on "InfoLink" and then "Business."