Retirement is starting to drain America’s insurance workforce.

— The 78 million baby boomers (born 1946-1964) will retire at an estimated pace of 10,000 per day over the next 20 years, according to U.S. Census and other data.

— The average age of insurance industry professionals is 56, according to the National Alliance Research Academy’s original survey of 3, 000 industry professionals, aged 46 and up.

— Insurance professionals said that they expect to retire at, on average, age 66.

Those facts are from a new study, “The Looming Professional Gap: The Aging of the National Insurance and Risk Management Workforce,” which I recommend for perspective for anyone who intends to make hiring decisions in the next 10 years.

The study cites U.S. Census and other demographic data, but plows new ground in providing original data about the insurance industry workforce.

The first baby boomers begin to retire January 1, 2011.

Are you starting to see the drain of retirees in the insurance industry yet?

To be continued. Next time: The number that shocked me most.