It's not your father's IRS, or at least it won't be if it can attract younger employees who can replace its rapidly aging current work force, according to a recent speech IRS Commissioner John Koskinen gave in Washington at the National Press Club. He noted that over half the service is aged 50 or more, and that next year over a quarter of staff will be eligible to retire, a number that is expected to increase to 40 percent by 2019. The commissioner expressed alarm at this prospect, saying it will be difficult to replace all the knowledge and experience that will soon walk out the door, never to return. To this end, he said the IRS needs to showcase its "interesting and exciting career opportunities" for younger people so that they can encourage them to join the agency. 

"In days gone by, the IRS had a reputation of being a great place to start your career, because of everything you learned that made you attractive to accounting firms, businesses and law firms," Koskinen. "Many of those who started with the IRS, and assumed they would move on after what sometimes was viewed as a post graduate education, discovered the challenge and satisfaction of the work here, and stayed throughout their careers. We need to restore our reputation in that regard."