The U.S. workforce today is older and grayer than ever: Many Baby Boomers have continued to work into their 60s and 70s, but their eventual retirement is profoundly changing the national worker-to-retiree ratio. Even though the senior workforce remains strong, people are retiring at a faster rate than they are being replaced with new workers, challenging critical programs including Medicare and Social Security. In fact, Social Security will be unable to make full payments to retirees beginning in 2033 unless lawmakers make significant updates to the program.

While some might complain that younger Americans are less interested in hard work, they simply represent a smaller portion of the overall U.S. population as each generation has fewer kids than their parents’ generation did. There aren’t enough millennials and Gen Zers to balance out the retiring Baby Boomers, which impacts both workforce and economic growth nationwide.

More retirees also means more demand for health care and other senior services—1 in 5 U.S. adults today provide care for family members or friends who are unable to care for themselves, which can create financial, health and workplace issues in subsequent generations. One solution to the shortage of workers and caregivers lies with increased immigration, which remains a political hot potato.

Regardless, as more seniors retire, the workforce will continue to evolve and must find ways to adapt to fewer workers to fill open positions.