The Working in Retirement Study consists of two separate projects. The first study, Working in Retirement: A 21st Century Phenomenon, is a collaborative project with the Families and Work Institute in New York. This study will analyze data from the 2007 National Study of the Changing Workforce (conducted every 5 years by the Families and Work Institute). We will examine how employees who have retired from a previous job or career view their current employment experiences. The second project for this research Initiative, Retirement Patterns, Expectations, and Decisions, will analyze data from the 2007 National Study of the Changing Workforce (conducted every 5 years by the Families and Work Institute) and the Health and Retirement Study. We will examine the similarities and differences of career transitions among early-career workers and late-career workers.
Working in Retirement: A 21st Century Phenomenon
context/need
Preliminary research suggests that increasing numbers of older workers intend to extent their labor force participation. Some of these people will try to stay with their current employers for additional years, whereas other will retire from a career (or a job they have held for a while) and find new employment.
Data from the National Study of the Changing Workforce will provide new insights about the everyday work experiences of those working in retirement.
key research questions
- What does it mean to be “working in retirement”?
- Why do people continue to work in retirement?
- How do those working in retirement compare with those who have not yet retired on their health, well-being, job engagement and job satisfaction?
- Why are the implications for employers?
publications
- Working in Retirement: A 21st Century Phenomenon (July 2010)
by Melissa Brown, Kerstin Aumann, Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Ellen Galinsky and James T. Bond
contact
For questions and more information about the project: Working in Retirement: A 21st Century Phenomenon, or to schedule a conversation with any of the Center's team, please contact:
617-552-9195 | agework@bc.edu
working in retirement: a 21st century phenomenon team members
 |
Kerstin Aumann, PhD Senior Research Associate Families and Work Institute |
 |
|
 |
James (Terry) T. Bond Vice President for Research Families and Work Institute |
 |
|
 |
Melissa Brown, MSW, PhD Adjunct Faculty Graduate School of Social Work |
|
|
 |
Ellen M. Galinsky President & Co-Founder Families and Work Institute |
|
|
 |
Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, PhD Director Sloan Center on Aging & Work, Boston College Associate Professor Graduate School of Social Work & Caroll School of Management, Boston College |
|
|
Retirement Patterns, Expectations, and Decisions
context/need
Retirement transitions from career employment are diverse, consisting more often than not of a job change prior to complete labor force withdrawal. The reasons for these changes are also diverse. For some, continued work is a way to maintain one’s standard of living in retirement, as traditional sources, such as defined-benefit pension plans and savings, fall short of providing sufficient income for 20 years of leisure late in life. For others, job changes are purely voluntary and serve as a way into a new line of work. Job transitions among younger workers are also diverse, and may have many of the same characteristics as those of older workers.
key research questions
- What are the determinants of job transitions among older workers?
- To what extent do job changes for early-career and late-career workers resemble each other?
publications
- Quinn, J. F., Cahill, K. E., & Giandrea, M. D. (2011). Early retirement: The dawn of a new era? New York, NY: TIAA-CREF Institute. Retrieved from
http://www1.tiaa-cref.org/ucm/groups/content/@ap_ucm_p_inst/documents/document/tiaa02030420.pdf. - Cahill, K. E., Giandrea, M. D., & Quinn, J. F. (2011). The role of re-entry in the retirement process. Monthly Labor Review, 134(6), 34-42. Retrieved from
http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/06/art2full.pdf. - Cahill, K. E., Giandrea, M. D., & Quinn, J. F. (2010). Employment patterns and determinants among older individuals with a history of short-duration jobs. (Working Paper No. 440). Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from
http://www.bls.gov/ore/pdf/ec100080.pdf.
contact
For questions and more information about the project: Retirement Patterns, Expectations, and Decisions, or to schedule a conversation with any of the Center's team, please contact:
617-552-9195 | agework@bc.edu
retirement patterns, expectations, and decisions team members
 |
|
 |
Kevin E. Cahill, PhD Research Economist Sloan Center on Aging & Work, Boston College |
|
|
 |
Michael Giandrea, PhD Research Economist U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
|
|
 |
Joseph F. Quinn, PhD Professor, James P. McIntyre Chair in Economics Department of Economics, Boston College |
|
|