Vanguard study: Work in retirement can be fun or necessity
San Diego Union-Tribune, January 18th, 2006
A lot of people envision retirement as an abrupt change from work to
play, but a new study by The Vanguard Group has found that it's more
likely to take the form of a gradual transition from a full-time job to
full-time leisure.
A study released Thursday by the Valley Forge, Pa., mutual funds
company found that about six in 10 Americans say that their retirement
plans include part-time or full-time work.
The survey of some 2,500 adults age 40 to 69 also found that “a common
strategy for making the transition from work to retirement is
downshifting.” That is, older workers shift to less stressful or
simpler jobs before stopping work entirely.
Nearly 25 percent of respondents age 55 and older have
“downshifted” at least once, the study found, and 40 percent expect to
do so in the future.
Steve Utkus, director of the Vanguard Center for Retirement
Research, which commissioned the study, said it has important
implications for employers and workers alike.
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