Retirement Study

The number of people 65 and older has increased sharply and is expected to rise even more dramatically in the next two decades. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the average life expectancy has increased dramatically over the last century.  For those born at the start of this century, in the year 2000, life expectancy is expected to be an average of 77 years.  There are societal-wide implications to the burgeoning demographics of aging for which we need to be prepared.  We needed to be prepared to meet the needs of a large number of the population who will be making changes--or at least thinking about making changes--in how and how much we work and how we use our knowledge and skills as we age.

 

Retirement has become an extended or continuous process rather than a single event. It sometimes means a “stop out” from work or a change in type of employment or reduction in hours. For some, it means a change from paid status to volunteer status. There are bridge job than ease retirees from their full time employment into retirement, and other consulting type jobs that are only available to retirees.

 

The Berger Institute surveyed various employees regarding what information and services are needed by employers and employees as we plan for and make decisions such as making gradual reductions in career or leaving a long-time position at a corporation, just to name a few possible examples.  How can professionals continue to use their skills and abilities in ways that make a difference into old age? What is your identity when, after a 30-year career, someone with a familiar face greets you at the market with, “Didn’t you used to be ….?” And, perhaps the first question the near 55 and better crowd is asking, “Can I afford to reduce the number of hours I work as I grow old?”  There will be many different paths through retirement, and this study seeks to examine those paths and to understand retirement as a new phase of life.  Dr. Halpern presented these findings from this study at the Western Psychological Association Convention.