Employers Wrestle With Retention

Reaching Out to Retirees: With individuals living longer and 77 million baby boomers headed for retirement, many employers are wrestling with their obligation to ensure that these employees have enough income after they retire, according to a recent report by the Conference Board.

Seven out of 10 baby boomers say they want to continue working in retirement, the report says. “Policymakers, employers and individuals need to rethink how retirement fits into the way people live their lives,” says Anna Rappaport, senior fellow on pensions and retirement for the Conference Board and author of the report.

Some employers are developing phased retirement programs that let employees move from full-time to part-time work before retiring. Forty-eight percent of current retirees are transitioning into retirement through part-time work, but mostly of their own accord, according to the report. Fifty-nine of 69 attendees of a recent Conference Board webcast say they are likely to have a formal phased retirement program within three years.