As baby boomers reach retirement age this year, the generation of free love and flower power may not be in any hurry to retire and leave coveted job spots for graduating college students.

And some local and Penn State professionals say it's difficult to determine when Americans born between 1946 and 1964 will exit the workforce and what impact it will have on the job market.

"It's almost too early to tell," Dan Aiello, a Culbertson Financial consultant, said.

Aiello said it will probably be true that a majority of the baby boomers will choose to retire later in life than their parents' generation had.

The United States Census Bureau estimates about 3 million people over the age of 65 are in the workforce.

As the baby boomers, who had their first members reach the age of 60 this year, enter the over-65 age bracket, that number is expected to grow.

A report released March 9 by the bureau speculates that the population of U.S. citizens older than 65 will double in the next 25 years.

"There are many baby boomers who, quite frankly, can't afford to retire," said Jack Rayman, senior director of Career Services at Penn State.

Rayman said there may not be as many jobs out there for college students when the baby boomers retire, as people had been projecting.

But the fact that such a large group of people is entering its 60s will still create some job openings.

He said the other factor that may counteract the job hole as the baby boomers get older is offshoring, which is when jobs are located in foreign countries but are not subject to tax laws.

Not only is the manufacturing sector moving to other countries, he added, but now the knowledge sector is as well.

Professor of labor studies and sociology Forrest Briscoe said in an e-mail message that he also sees globalization as an important factor in the future job market.

Briscoe wrote that he believes the key issue for graduating college students may be the impact of globalization on the talent pool competing for "knowledge-worker jobs."

Rayman said companies regularly come to Penn State to fill their human resources needs when their older workers retire.

They are primarily looking for graduates in science fields such as engineering and information sciences and technology, Rayman said.

He added that mandatory retirements may force some boomers out of the workforce, but companies may want to hang on to the more experienced workers who are already adequately trained.

Aiello said reasons for a later retirement may include not saving enough money or waiting until Medicare benefits are dispersed to citizens reaching age 65.

Another reason for a later retirement may be that boomers took it upon themselves to pay for their children's education.

Aiello said he advises clients not to do this. Parents should take care of retirement first and let their children, who have the rest of their lives in front of them, pay for their own education as much as they can.

Pennsylvania, which already ranks second among all states in the percentage of persons aged 65 and older (15.6 percent to Florida's 17.6 percent), may be hit especially hard when an estimated 402,758 Pennsylvanians in the workforce between the ages of 55 and 64 reach that age.

University spokeswoman Karen Zitomer acknowledged Pennsylvania may be experiencing a "brain drain," a loss of knowledge-sector jobs to other states.

She said the university has tried to combat that trend by instituting several programs and internship opportunities with Pennsylvania companies to fill the roles of the quickly aging and departing knowledge sector in Pennsylvania.

"We keep our academic programs on the cutting edge," she said.