SiliconBeat

Take heart, older workers. There’s an employer looking for you: Uncle Sam.It seems that about one-third of the federal workforce will become eligible to retire between now and 2012, according to a report by the General Accountability Office. That percentage rises to nearly half at some departments, such as Housing and Urban Development and Transportation, and at the Agency for International Development and the Small Business Administration.

For certain occupations, the numbers represent more than half, like customs and border protection agents and air traffic controllers. (uh-oh).

The report notes that, “Overall, the federal government already has a number of characteristics that appeal to all employees and is making progress toward becoming a model employer of older, experienced workers. For example, federal employees can telecommute, work flexible hours, and receive health and retirement benefits that older workers find especially attractive.”

One agency, the Social Security Administration, which is said to be in danger of losing a “substantial portion” of its workforce to retirement, has been offering “recruitment, retention, and relocation bonuses” to lure workers.

That’s the same agency that is said to be in danger of running out of money sometime in the next thirty or forty years, right?