Does Bridge Employment Mitigate or Exacerbate Inequalities Later in Life?

This paper explores how gradual retirement impacts inequality later in life, with a focus on transitions from career to bridge employment. We use 26 years of longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study to document the various pathways that older Americans take when exiting the labor force, and examine how bridge employment impacts non-housing wealth and total wealth, including the present discounted value of Social Security benefits. We find that gradual retirement in the form of bridge employment neither exacerbates nor mitigates wealth inequalities among Americans who held career jobs later in life. We do find evidence that wealth inequalities grow among the subset of older career workers who transition from career employment to bridge employer at older ages. These findings provide quantitative evidence that bridge employment at older ages is taken by those who need to continue working financially and those who continue working for nonpecuniary reasons.

Flexibilizing the Retirement Transition: Why, How and for Whom? Conceptual Clarifications, Institutional Arrangements and Potential Consequences

In many countries, flexibilizing the retirement transition is seen as an innovative policy which may help to solve some of the problems ageing societies face. The paper aims at specifying what is or can be meant by flexibilizing the retirement transition. The proposed conceptual framework contributes to a better understanding of the potential individual and structural consequences of flexibilized retirement transitions. It spells out four dimensions based on which measures of flexibilization can be differentiated, compared and examined more closely: aggregate vs. individual flexibilization (the latter resulting in gradual retirement), the temporal form and reference of flexibilizing measures, accessibility and eligibility, and financial risks and costs resulting from flexible transitions to retirement. These dimensions of comparison are exemplified by referring to existing measures of retirement flexibilization, in particular wage subsidies and partial pensions. Based on the conceptual argument, some of the potential consequences of flexibilized retirement transitions are discussed critically and in particular with regard to questions of social inequality. As these reflections show, the framework may also help to unpack the policy logic behind flexibilizing retirement transitions, and the very different interests it may serve.

A Case of Phased Retirement in Sweden

Gradual retirement has become more common, yet previous research has neglected to study managerial and organisational aspects of phased retirement. Based upon ten interviews, it was found that, when managed successfully, phased retirement is beneficial for both the individual and the organisation. The organisation can successfully transfer knowledge between employees, while the individuals enhance their well-being and obtain a better balance between work and leisure. However, in order for both the organisation and the individual to benefit from phased retirement, managerial action and planning is required.

A Case of Phased Retirement in Sweden

Gradual retirement has become more common, yet previous research has neglected to study managerial and organisational aspects of phased retirement. Based upon ten interviews, it was found that, when managed successfully, phased retirement is beneficial for both the individual and the organisation. The organisation can successfully transfer knowledge between employees, while the individuals enhance their well-being and obtain a better balance between work and leisure. However, in order for both the organisation and the individual to benefit from phased retirement, managerial action and planning is required.