Retirement Wave Hits IRS

The IRS is confronting a brain drain.

By next year, more than 25 percent of the agency’s workers will be eligible to retire, according to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.

Exacerbating that problem, the agency is having a hard time finding young talented workers who would be capable of taking over the responsibilities of experienced IRS personnel, Mr. Koskinen said in prepared remarks before the National Press Club in April.

“This situation makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the IRS to properly develop its next generation of leaders,” Mr. Koskinen said, “…especially if our severe underfunding continues.”

Currently, according to FierceGovernment, the IRS employs approximately 1,900 people that are under 30 years old. However, about half of that number work part-time.

Overall, less than three percent of the agency’s workforce is under 30, in part because of a decline in younger workers.

By 2019, an estimated 40 percent of the agency’s workers could be eligible for retirement, Mr. Koskinen said.