The Role of Employers in Phased Retirement: Opportunities for Phased Retirement Among White-Collar Workers

Abstract

[Excerpt] While the labor market for older workers has many unusual features, the small number of phased retirements is certainly one of the more curious. The basic idea of phased retirement is that an older worker remains with his or her employer while gradually shifting from full-time work to full-time retirement. For decades experts have proclaimed the advantages of this type of retirement. Moreover, employees often express an interest in taking a phased retirement. In a recent national survey of the older population, more than half of the respondents age 55 to 65 said they would prefer to gradually reduce their hours of work as they age. Yet, all indications are that phased retirements are rather rare. Past studies indicate that within a cohort of older workers, less than ten percent took phased retirement; most people simply moved from full-time work to full-time retirement. Nothing in the more recent data indicates that this has changed greatly.