Many people looking to retirement don’t want to suddenly stop working altogether either for financial or personal reasons. They instead want to phase into it by switching to part-time hours first. However, there’s a gap between what employees want and what employers expect.
The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies recently identified that 77% of employers believe that the majority of their employees will want to continue working after they retire. However, up to 47% of employees envision a phased transition to retirement. Very few of them actually end up phasing into retirement. Many employers do not wan
t to allow their employees to shift from full-time to part-time.
Just 27% of employers allow workers to take on positions that are less demanding or stressful so that they can prepare for retirement. These phased retirement programs are rare even though there is clearly interest in the market coming from employees directly. More than 1,800 for profit company employers were interviewed for this study. Although 71% of those employers believe that they were aging friendly with regard to work arrangements, opportunities, and training for all ages to be successful, many of them do not provide a comprehensive or clear program for phasing into retirement.
The US Government Accountability Office recently completed their own study for the US Senate Special Committee on Aging. They’ve identified that phased retirement programs offer a great deal of flexibility for employers and workers, but that they are extremely rare. If you have questions about the retirement planning process and how it works alongside estate planning, schedule a consultation with an experienced estate planning lawyer today.