Retirees enjoy phasing out of work
More companies allow older employees to scale back schedules.
Seven years ago, Steve E. Norwitz, then a 61-year-old executive at the Baltimore mutual fund group T. Rowe Price, proposed a scaleddown work schedule that would reduce his duties.
“I didn’t figure it would go beyond two years,” said Norwitz, who started working at T. Rowe Price in 1977. In fact, “10 years ago, I thought I’d retire at 60.”
Now 68, he is still at it. Instead of managing the media relations department, as he once did, Norwitz now works on specific projects and takes 13 weeks off a year. He accepted a 25 percent cut in pay in exchange for more personal time to spend with his wife, a retired teacher and tutor, and to attend cultural events and travel.
Like an increasing number of older Americans, Norwitz opted for a “phased” retirement that scales back work over a period of years instead of a cold-turkey withdrawal from the workforce.
As many Americans enjoy greater longevity and a healthier old age, they are seeking more flexibility in their work schedules. Many of them simply want to stay connected to their workplace and colleagues, while others are seeking an improved work-life balance with more time for involvement with their families and communities. Others need to work or have to build up their nest eggs.
“Few employers have formal programs,” said Helen Friedman, director of global workforce analytics and planning for Towers Watson, a human resources consulting firm. “Phased retirement can look quite different across organizations, although the biggest challenge employers are trying to address is simple: replacing people with critical skills.”
Phased retirement may be offered in bits and piec- es, such as fewer hours or off-site work. Nearly half of human resource professionals surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management, a trade organization, said they “offered reduced hours or part-time positions to older workers.” About 40 percent said they “hired retired employees as consultants or temporary workers.”
According to an AonHewitt/ AARP survey published last year, roughly 80 percent of workers in their 50s or older said they would be interested in the opportunity to stay in the workforce in a more limited capacity past their planned retirement date.
“They are picking up in momentum,” said Roselyn Feinsod, senior partner in the retirement practice at the insurance and human resources firm AonHewitt and an author of the AARP study. “It’s part of a broader approach to offer flexibility in the workplace.”
For workers who are winding down their careers, the opportunity to make a gradual and productive departure has great appeal. Beyond the need to sustain their income, many enjoy the immersion of work and the learning and social opportunities it offers. And a tapered exit can help avoid some of the tensions that may arise at home when plunging into full-time retirement.
“It helps to have outside interests and your spouse’s support,” Norwitz said.
For employers, phased retirement not only helps them retain experienced employees whose skill sets are not easily replaced, but also keeps valued people around to help guide younger employees.