The problems facing older workers are well documented in the media, so it was refreshing to attend the Encore Opportunity Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., yesterday, where the buzz in the room was all about the value and values that experienced employees bring to a job. The event honored 8 nonprofits or government organizations that have demonstrated their commitment to encore talent.

“Seven out of 10 nonprofits have recently hired someone we’d think of as in an encore career,” said Civic Ventures Vice President Phyllis Segal, citing recent research done by Civic Ventures and MetLife Foundation. “And those who have done it are far more positive about recruiting the encore workforce than those who haven’t.” That led to what Segal jokingly called her very sophisticated theory on hiring encore talent: “Try it, you’ll like it.”

If you are a nonprofit employer who has hired — or tried to hire — workers age 50 or older, the Conference Board, a business research and membership group, wants you to take a survey no later than August 1.

The goal is to better understand how nonprofit employers can reach out to experienced workers.

What are the chances a 65-year-old will live past 85? What is the average monthly Social Security benefit? What is the greatest financial risk facing retirees?

Most Americans would flunk a quiz on retirement income issues, according to the MetLife Mature Market Institute, which has updated the Retirement Income IQ Test it first released five years ago. The institute gave an average score of just 43 points out of 100 to more than 1,200 people who took the test in a random survey.

Some people want an encore career that combines combine income with personal meaning and also contributes to society. Others think that’s a pipe dream, and that simply making ends meet is going to be a challenge. And still others at the end of their midlife careers want nothing to do with work at all.

The Internet is abuzz with reactions to the MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Career Survey, which found that an estimated 6 percent to 9.5 percent of Americans ages 44 to 70 are already working in encore careers. The survey also found that, among those people not already in encore careers, 50 percent said they want to have one.

Alice Waters wasn’t content to start a national revolution around organic and locally grown food. At age 64, she’s 12 years into an encore career to transform the way schoolchildren think about what they eat.

She spends the bulk of her time traveling, speaking and raising funds for her Edible Schoolyard project, which gives children the experience of planting, growing and preparing foods that they share together.

Numerous media outlets reported on the findings of the MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Career Survey. Some of the major articles:

USA Today: “Boomers’ New Jobs Give Back,” by Janet Kornblum.

The New York Times: “Options for Those Nonretiring Boomers,” by Marci Alboher.

Los Angeles Times: “Encore Careers Give ‘Retirees’ Another Chance to Do Dream Jobs,” by Maria L. La Ganga.

The conventional wisdom about older workers is that they a) cost more; b) are absent more often; and c) have one foot out the door.

The truth is: not much, not at all and no way.

In ”Keep Pace with Older Workers” in the May 2008 issue of HR Magazine, Robert J. Grossman refutes some myths about older workers.

“Retailers like Target, Trader Joe’s, Wegman’s, Circuit City and IKEA are just a few examples of companies that offer their part-time employees health care options, 401(k) plans, paid vacation time and/or discounts on merchandise,” reports Mary Lorenz of CareerBuilder.com.

Jacksonville is working to become a model city for people seeking encore careers.

With more than 1 million residents, a quarter of them over age 50, the largest city in Florida has a wealth of older residents willing to share their talent and experience.

“We know there is a large, willing group of older adults in Jacksonville who would like to work, but work differently,” said Mark LeMaire, director of Life: Act 2, a partnership established by the United Way of Northeastern Florida. “We see our role as trying to soften up some of the area businesses to create ways they could accommodate them, by making the structure more flexible and making it easier to break in.”

Individuals and employers would get tax credits and other incentives to save money for the training and education needed to launch their encore careers under the Lifelong Learning Accounts Act of 2008, introduced by Reps. Rahm Emanuel and Jim Ramstad.