The current economic recession has impacted workers of all ages, but seems to have hit those individuals 45 and older particularly hard. A recent article published in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/us/13age.html?_r=3&hp) indicated that laid-off workers ages 45 and older were out of work an average of 22.2 weeks in 2008, compared with an average of 16.2 weeks for younger workers. Unfortunately, there is an alarming second trend that seems to correspond with these statistics. When older workers do eventually find jobs, they typically suffer a much steeper drop in salary than their younger counterparts. Meanwhile with retirement accounts plunging in value and more workers planning to stay in the workforce longer, the timing for this pattern is less than ideal.