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I had not heard this term before, but as the article explains, it is not just retirees taking on part-time jobs, but companies forming a new class of employee.
This sounds a lot like how my father eventually retired, which is to say in stages. At the end he essentially got to decide the projects he took on, hours he kept, etc., but his employer retained the benefit of his many, many years of experience. The third time he "retired" it actually stuck. But in his case, he truly loved what he did, didn't have a lot of internal politics (at least from what he told me) and didn't really have a lot of outside interests.
I told my current employer I was retiring about a week ago and they asked me what it would take to keep me. I explained in a way that they would understand that I'm done, really done. Maybe there are certain professions where this "flextirement" means something, like in my father's case, but in my case I literally don't see any halfway point worth considering. Cutting your hours by half but still having the stress of certain expectations or results hanging over your head is not a retirement lite - it is giving your employer the benefit of your experience at bargain-basement prices. No, for me, it's retire or not. The halfway only gets you a miniscule decrease in stress with a much larger decrease in compensation.
I had not heard this term before, but as the article explains, it is not just retirees taking on part-time jobs, but companies forming a new class of employee.
the company i work for part time does that with retired key employees….from the day i retired they find ways of keeping me involved .
i can literally make my own schedule , i enjoy what i do and it pays well .
i have been working 1 day a week for 8 years since retiring with a few 2-4 day weeks when needed .
since sept i am doing two days ….i never intend to give it up totally unless i am not happy about something.
its nice because it brings in 20-40k a year depending what i want to work , and even if i did what i do free like as charity work i would do it so the fact i get paid for it is a bonus.
i got a friend a job so he starts in two weeks so my wife said we have nothing planned so i can give him 4 days a week to get him trained faster for a week or two .
definitely a nice schedule for bringing in extra money .
we make sure we enjoy that money too…. like i am dropping my car off for service tomorrow and right across the street is the famous peter lugar steak house .
so we don’t think twice about going for lunch .. in fact there is a valet service that typically picks up our car and drops off a loaner .
we said don’t bother , with peter lugars across the street i will bring it in myself .
so the extra dough has us doing things we wouldn’t typically do out of guilt …
Last edited by mathjak107; 02-20-2024 at 02:40 AM..
They have done that to some employees where I used to work. Had them stay on to finish a project when they retired. The law says they can do it but compensation is capped at $30,000, so a person can't be on a state pension plus be working for an agency in the system indefinitely.
I know of twice it being offered in my department. Once was when a woman retired and right after, her successor needed cancer treatment, so they asked the retiree to come back for a few months. The other time a woman put in her papers and she was asked to come back to finish a project. Right after that she landed in the hospital with an episode related to an ongoing heart problem, and she said, no, that's it, I am done, don't need the stress.
When I retired I offered to stay part time. It was in the midst of Covid and we were already short people. I worked 12 hour rotating shifts and as you get older those are harder and harder to do. Scheduled 14 of 28 days but the company had really started on the forced overtime. I wasn't interested.
Another co-worker was ready to go also and we said we would work 7 each. Company wasn't interested. Before a year was out they were calling asking me if I wanted to come back part time as the company didn't hire through Covid and was short employee's.
I turned them down initially and then they said I could work when and if I wanted to. I worked 1-2 days a week for a few months while they hired and trained new employee's.
The state I retired from used to let retirees come back as consultants but eventually the practice ended. In the 12 years of my retirement I have worked part time all but three years. My first job was teaching at the university which was new for me and hence my username. I did that for 8 years with some consulting in my previous career.
I still consult and made 10k last year. I will never quit as long as my health is good. I schedule my clients and work when I want to. It’s nice to have extra money without spending my savings. I also really enjoy the work.
The state I retired from used to let retirees come back as consultants but eventually the practice ended. In the 12 years of my retirement I have worked part time all but three years. My first job was teaching at the university which was new for me and hence my username. I did that for 8 years with some consulting in my previous career.
I still consult and made 10k last year. I will never quit as long as my health is good. I schedule my clients and work when I want to. It’s nice to have extra money without spending my savings. I also really enjoy the work.
That's great. The agency I worked for does not allow you to come back to work as a consultant until after a year has passed, and I think they may have made the restriction longer now. I'm out eight years.
I made about $26K working part time last year, which nicely supplemented my pension. (I don't yet collect SS). I didn't go back until May, though. This year I will probably make more. I've been asked to work on a major regional project, and I'm going to give it a shot, although I have mixed feelings. Part of me says retire for good, another part says you can be a small part of this really important thing and make some money, too! So, I'm going to show up for the job on March 18 and see how it goes. That's the lovely part of it. I have the option to work or not.
This is not the same as what the article is talking about, though. I won't be working directly for my former employer, although the NYC engineering world is surprisingly small and everyone is intertwined in some way with everyone else. And I'm not even an engineer, but just one of the supporting types whose worked in the industry all my life. But you can get a reputation for doing a particular thing, and it pays off if you want to work again. "Who you know" also figures into it. I guess that's the same anywhere.
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Flex retirement became a thing in 2000 at my company that pioneered flex hours in the 1960s.
Several coworkers took early out with generous severance package. Then returned a few yrs later into PT or job sharing roles(@ 2x pay). 3 retired engineers would fill 1 or 3 FTE. Then they rotated depending on weather, fishing, hunting, and travel schedules. Worked well. There is a fortune in training $ and coming-up-to-speed $$$ saved.
I had not heard this term before, but as the article explains, it is not just retirees taking on part-time jobs, but companies forming a new class of employee.
I love the concept. My company, and the business I'm in, does this.
That's the thing now about construction. For decades college was pushed to the point where it was stated that if you didn't go to college you would end up working at a construction site.
Well, 30 plus years later, this country is begging for experienced construction foreman/supervisors/project managers. That plays right into the need for the experience that the next generation hasn't filled here. We are now seeing a young push (and a huge Hispanic push) into the trades, but we're missing the ones from the 40's to the 60's to replace us about to retire.
So now I'm 62. The conversations have already started by my executives to me and those my age that they will work with us if we are willing to stay on in roles less than full time. Guys are now working 3-4 days a week and loving the extra cash. Plus we as builders truly love what we do. I couldn't think of a more rewarding career. When I'm done with a job I can stand back and be proud of what I was just a part of.
Comradery plus team work added to pride makes a very happy worker. I'll probably work into my 70's, but on my terms. Plus I need a reason and a purpose.
I had not heard this term before, but as the article explains, it is not just retirees taking on part-time jobs, but companies forming a new class of employee.
Japan has been facing retirement issues much like the US.
For one thing all of "ok boomers". KNOW what we are doing. A mentorship... even on a part time basis is better than trying to cram train new younger employees in a month or two.
Then there's the declining population following us boomers.
That... declining population and aging population faces Japan as well.
I consider myself "semi retired"..as many of you know, I'm disabled. I've collected SSDI for years..but I'm a "doer" not liking to be a "couch potato".
I can pay my bills and don't have to work, am nothing special, and am limited to gross earnings of $1550/month this year.
I get credit in dollars added to my monthly SSDI check for the previous years work history.
But, I'm on hold..I had major back surgery in Aug last year, screwing me together even more, and moved to a new area. I'm looking for something special, and easy on my body...I'm not quite ready yet to return.
Lol I'm looking for a "desk job" not a "street beat" (if I were a cop!)
There's not really been any major improvement in the excruciating pain since the surgery, and standing, even sitting the whole shift is.. pretty much out. I need a mix.i was hoping for better results.
But I like to be active, busy and contribute SOMETHING. Basically getting out of the house...and out of my own head..lol without spending money, but earning it...suits me fine.
Kudos to ANY employer who sees the value of "old decrepit has been" boomers! ( And those even older!)
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