"Honolulu forever young" is a program sponsored by the city's community services department.

Boomers will soon be hitting the age of 65.

"So far back as I can remember, 65 has always been deemed the age to retire. And yet, the reality is, most people don't retire at the age of 65," said Debbie Kim Morikawa of Community Services.

And those are the people the city wants to honor with the Honolulu Forever Young award. The city is looking to change the perception of aging and retirement by honoring those who accomplish great things in their senior years.

"What we see is that, there are some that stay in the work force for financial reasons, but there are a lot of people that have that 'forever young' spirit and essentially stay because they feel they have a lot more to give," said Morikawa.

Nominations for the recognition may come from friends or family members - or possibly from employers who appreciate the contributions of their veteran employees.

"You know, older employees are very loyal, they're mature, they have wonderful work habits, work ethics. They're great trainers and mentors and coaches for younger workers," explained Joan White of the Oahu Workforce Investment Board.

Each year, the mayor holds a senior recognition program - a worthwhile endeavor. But it differs considerably from the Honolulu Forever Young recognition.

"We also have tried to make the distinction between the mayor's senior recognition program. So that's really for the pure volunteer. So this is really looking at people who are still gainfully employed or doing their work pro bono," said Morikawa.

The fact that seniors remain on the job is likely good for their employers and definitely good for the employees. As the magic 65 number approaches for workers, they should sit down at the table with employers.

"We really want employees and employers to talk to each other and say, you know, there are ways. And we have an aging work force, we have very low unemployment still. So it's really an opportunity," said White.

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