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Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 700

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine the experiences of retirees who were aged 51 to 61 in 1992 and therefore who were 61 to 71 in 2002, Cahill and his colleagues found, “in 1992, 66 percent of the men” (65.9% as listed on Table 3, p.24) “were still on their FTC* jobs, while 15 percent" (14.5% as listed on Table 3, p.24) “were employed on bridge jobs and 19 percent were not in the labor force. Among women, 73 percent" (72.7% as listed on Table 3, p.24) “were still on FTC* jobs, while the remaining respondents were divided almost equally between bridge job employment and absence from the labor force. Ten years later, only 14 percent" (14.4% as listed on Table 3, p.24) “of the (now much older) male sample was still on a FTC* job and 56 percent" (55.6% as listed on Table 3, p.24) “had exited the labor force. One-quarter of the male sample was on a bridge job in 2002." (25.3% as listed on Table 3, p.24). "The story is similar for females.” (p. 9-10)

* FTC means full-time career. The authors, define full-time career (FTC) job as “one that consists of at least 1,600 hours per year (“full time”) and that lasts ten or more years (“career”).” (p. 8)

The authors explain and define bridge jobs as some individuals /retirees “take on short-duration or part-time jobs after leaving full-time career (FTC) employment. These jobs bridge the gap between FTC employment and complete labor force withdrawal, and are aptly called “bridge jobs.” (p. 4)

Cahill, E. K., Giandrea, D. M., & Quinn, F. J. (2005, September 29). Are traditional retirements a thing of the past? New evidence on retirement patterns and bridge jobs. Working paper. Retrieved July 18, 2006, from http://ideas.repec.org/p/boc/bocoec/626.html

“This paper investigates whether permanent, one-time retirements are coming to an end just as the trend towards earlier and earlier retirements did nearly 20 years ago. We explore how common bridge jobs are among today’s retirees, and how uncommon traditional retirements have become. Design & Methods: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we explore the work histories and retirement patterns of a cohort of retirees aged 51 to 61 in 1992 over a ten-year time period in both a cross-sectional and longitudinal context. Bridge job determinants are examined using bivariate comparisons and a multinomial logistic regression model of the bridge job decision.”

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 1609

Using Health and Retirement data, Cahill, Giandrea, and Quinn found that "When asked to indicate how much they agreed or disagreed with the statement, "I enjoy going to work," 95 percent of respondents on bridge jobs in 2004 said they strongly agreed. Responses were similar across wage or occupation groups. About 33 percent of white collar, highly skilled workers said they "strongly agreed" with the statement, as did 33 percent of blue collar, non-highly skilled workers." (p.7)

"This Issue Brief focuses on how people leave their career employment and the role that one particular type of flexible work arrange, bridge jobs, plays in the retirement transitions of older Americans." (p.1)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 1610

Using Health and Retirement (HRS) data from 1992 to 2004, "Men [58%] and women [62%] who rated their health as excellent or very good were more likely than those who rated their health as fair or poor [Men: 44%, Women: 43%] to take on bridge jobs." (p.4-5)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 1611

Using Data from the Health and Retirement study, Maestas (2007) found that 55 percent of older workers (born between 1931and 1941) had accurate expectations about post-retirement work [i.e., expected to work and did work after retirement], compared to 37 percent who expected to work but did not and 8 percent who did not expect to work but did. (Table 3)

Maestas, Nicole. (2007, April). Back to work: Expectations and realizations of work after retirement. Rand Working Paper WR-196-2. Retrieved July 5, 2007 from http://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/2007/RAND_WR196-2.pdf

"This paper analyzes a puzzling aspect of retirement behavior known as "unretirement," in which retirees appear to reverse their retirement decisions and return to work." Data from the Health and Retirement Survey was used to track and date respondents’ transitions in and out of the labor force over time. The analysis sample of 7000 obervations was composed of members of the initial HRS cohort, who were first interviewed in 1992 when they were between the ages of 51 and 61, and their spouses. Respondents are re-interviewed every two years; therefore thefirst six waves yield data over the period 1992 through 2002.

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 1612

Focusing on the War Baby cohort (born 1942-1947), Giandrea, Cahill, and Quinn (2007) found that 23 percent of men with medium-high wage rates ($10-$20 per hour in 1998) in 1998 were working bridge jobs in 2004, compared to 41percent of men earning low wages (less than $6 per hour), 39 percent of men earning medium-low wages ($6-$10 per hour), and 30 percent of men earning high wages ($20 or more per hour). (Table 8).

Giandrea, M. D., Cahill, K. E., & Quinn, J. F. (2007). An update on bridge jobs: The HRS war babies (Working Paper No. 407). Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved October 30, 2007 from http://www.bls.gov/ore/abstract/ec/ec070060.htm

"This paper explores the retirement patterns of a younger cohort of individuals from the HRS [Health and Retirement Study] known as the "War Babies" These survey respondents were born between 1942 and 1947 and were 57 to 62 years of age at the time of their fourth bi-annual HRS interview in 2004." (p.2)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 1613

Focusing on the War Baby cohort (Giandrea, Cahill, and Quinn (2007) found that 37 percent of women with medium-low wage rates ($6-$per hour in in were working bridge jobs in 2004, compared to 31percent women earning low wages (less than $6 per hour), 32 percent of women earning medium-high wages ($10-$20 per hour), and 28 percent of women earning high wages ($20 or more per hour). (Table 8)

"This paper explores the retirement patterns of a younger cohort of individuals from the HRS [Health and Retirement Study] known as the "War Babies" These survey respondents were born between 1942 and 1947 and were 57 to 62 years of age at the time of their fourth bi-annual HRS interview in 2004." (p.2)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 1620

"The majority of older Americans leaving full-time career employment (about 60% of those leaving a full-time career job after age 50 and about 53% of those leaving after age 55) moved first to a bridge job rather than directly out of the labor force." (p.523)

Cahill, K., Giandrea, M., & Quinn, J. (2006). Retirement patterns from career employment. The Gerontologist, 46(4), 514-523.

The authors "utilized data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in order to explore older Americans' patterns of labor-force withdrawal. The HRS is a nationally representative panel data set designed to help understand retirement patterns, determinants, and consequences. As shown in Table 1, the HRS sample includes more than 12,600 individuals (in more than 7,600 households), with respondents aged 51 to 61 in 1992 and their spouses, of any age." (pp. 516-517)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 1686

Analysis of data from the Health and Retirement Survey showed that nearly 50 percent of retirees follow a nontraditional retirement path that involves partial retirement or unretirement, and that 26 percent of retirees later unretire, most commonly about two years after retirement. The unretirement rate is even higher among younger retirees (as high as 35 percent among those retiring at ages 53-54). (p. 28)

Maestas, Nicole. (2007, April). Back to work: Expectations and realizations of work after retirement. Rand Working Paper WR-196-2. Retrieved July 5, 2007 from http://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/2007/RAND_WR196-2.pdf

Data from the Health and Retirement Survey was used to track and date respondents’ transitions in and out of the labor force over time. The analysis sample of 7000 obervations was composed of members of the initial HRS cohort, who were first interviewed in 1992 when they were between the ages of 51 and 61, and their spouses. Respondents are re-interviewed every two years; therefore thefirst six waves yield data over the period 1992 through 2002.

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 2021

According a 2007 analysis of HRS survey data, among "war babies"(respondents born between 1942-1947) who had full-time career (FTC) jobs since age 50 and who had moved off their FTC job by 2004, 67 percent of the men and 71 percent of the women first moved to a bridge job." (p. 10)

Giandrea, M. D., Cahill, K. E., & Quinn, J. F. (2007). An update on bridge jobs: The HRS war babies (Working Paper No. 407). Washington, DC: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ore/abstract/ec/ec070060.htm

"This paper explores the retirement patterns of a younger cohort of individuals from the HRS [Health and Retirement Study] known as the "War Babies" These survey respondents were born between 1942 and 1947 and were 57 to 62 years of age at the time of their fourth bi-annual HRS interview in 2004." (p.2)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 2022

According a 2007 analysis of Health and Retirement Survey data, among "war babies" (HRS respondents born between 1942-1947), 13% were self-employed. Of those, 59% were still on their full-time career (FTC) job, 33% moved to a bridge job, and 5% were no longer working. In comparison, among wage and salary workers, 50% were still on their FTC job, 30% moved to a bridge job, and 16% were no longer working. (Table 3)

Giandrea, M. D., Cahill, K. E., & Quinn, J. F. (2007). An update on bridge jobs: The HRS war babies (Working Paper No. 407). Washington, DC: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ore/abstract/ec/ec070060.htm

"This paper explores the retirement patterns of a younger cohort of individuals from the HRS [Health and Retirement Study] known as the "War Babies" These survey respondents were born between 1942 and 1947 and were 57 to 62 years of age at the time of their fourth bi-annual HRS interview in 2004." (p.2)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 2176

Based on a 2007 analysis of data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), "younger respondents who left their career jobs by 2004 were more likely than older workers to move to a bridge job. For example, of the men who moved from a FTC job by 2004, 67 percent of those less than age 62 years took a bridge job, compared to only half of those aged 65 years and older." (fig. 3, p. 4)

Cahill, K. E., Giandrea, M. D., & Quinn, J. F. (2007). Down shifting: The role of bridge jobs after career employment. (Issue Brief No. 6). Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College Center on Aging & Work/Workplace Flexibility. Retrieved from http://agingandwork.bc.edu/documents/IB06_DownShifting_003.pdf

"This Issue Brief focuses on how people leave their career employment and the role that one particular type of flexible work arrangement, bridge jobs, plays in the retirement transitions of older Americans." (p. 1)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 1568

"According to analysis of the Health and Retirement Study, there was a relationship found between bridge job prevalence and socio-economic status. Those at both ends of the wage distribution had higher rates of bridge job employment than those in the middle wage groups." (p.6)

"This Issue Brief focuses on how people leave their career employment and the role that one particular type of flexible work arrangement, bridge jobs, plays in the retirement transitions of older Americans."

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 1566

"According to analysis of the Health and Retirement Study, younger HRS respondents who left their career jobs by 2004 were more likely than older workers to move to a bridge job. For example, of the men who moved from a FTC job by 2004, 67 percent of those less than age 62 years took a bridge job, compared to only half of those aged 65 years and older. A similar pattern was found among the women with career jobs, with the differences between the youngest and oldest workers being even more pronounced." (p. 4)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 1552

"Focusing on the War Baby cohort (1942-1947), Giandrea, Cahill, and Quinn (2007) found that 37 percent of women with medium-low wage rates ($6-$10 per hour in 1998) in 1998 were working bridge jobs in 2004, compared to 31 percent women earning low wages (less than $6 per hour), 32 percent of women earning medium-high wages ($10-$20 per hour), and 28 percent of women earning high wages ($20 or more per hour)."

Giandrea, M. D., Cahill, K. E., & Quinn, J. F. (2007). An update on bridge jobs: The HRS war babies (Working Paper No. 407). Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved October 30, 2007 from http://www.bls.gov/ore/abstract/ec/ec070060.htm

"This paper explores the retirement patterns of a younger cohort of individuals from the HRS [Health and Retirement Study] known as the "War Babies" These survey respondents were born between 1942 and 1947 and were 57 to 62 years of age at the time of their fourth bi-annual HRS interview in 2004." (p.2)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 701

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine the experiences of retirees who were aged 51 to 61 in 1992 and therefore who were 61 to 71 in 2002, Cahill and his colleagues found, “the percentage of men either working at a bridge job or who had last worked at a bridge job before leaving the labor force increased from 33 percent in 1996" (33.1% as listed on Table 4, p.25) "to 50 percent in 2002." (49.8% as listed on Table 4, p.25). “Women experienced a similar increase in the number who were holding or had held a bridge job, from 28" (27.5% as listed on Table 4, p.25) "to 45 percent" (45.3% as listed on Table 4, p.25). ”…in both cases in 2002, about half of the sample had already utilized a bridge job before exiting from the labor force.” (p.10)

The authors explain and define bridge jobs as some individuals /retirees “take on short-duration or part-time jobs after leaving full-time career (FTC) employment. These jobs bridge the gap between FTC employment and complete labor force withdrawal, and are aptly called “bridge jobs.” (p. 4)

Cahill, E. K., Giandrea, D. M., & Quinn, F. J. (2005, September 29). Are traditional retirements a thing of the past? New evidence on retirement patterns and bridge jobs. Working paper. Retrieved July 18, 2006, from http://ideas.repec.org/p/boc/bocoec/626.html

“This paper investigates whether permanent, one-time retirements are coming to an end just as the trend towards earlier and earlier retirements did nearly 20 years ago. We explore how common bridge jobs are among today’s retirees, and how uncommon traditional retirements have become. Design & Methods: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we explore the work histories and retirement patterns of a cohort of retirees aged 51 to 61 in 1992 over a ten-year time period in both a cross-sectional and longitudinal context. Bridge job determinants are examined using bivariate comparisons and a multinomial logistic regression model of the bridge job decision.”

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 703

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine the experiences of retirees who were aged 51 to 61 in 1992 and therefore who were 61 to 71 in 2002, Cahill and his colleagues found, “nearly half of self-employed FTC* workers who took on a bridge job were still employed in 2002 compared to only 37 percent of wage-and salary workers. In addition, while only 15 percent of wage-and-salary workers who took a bridge job have taken on a job in self-employment, 40 percent of self-employed FTC* workers took on a wage-and-salary bridge job. A similar story is observed with those who had taken bridge jobs but were out of the labor force by 2002.” (p.12)

* FTC means full-time career. The authors, define full-time career (FTC) job as “one that consists of at least 1,600 hours per year (“full time”) and that lasts ten or more years (“career”).” (p. 8)

"This paper investigates whether permanent, one-time retirements are coming to an end just as the trend towards earlier and earlier retirements did nearly 20 years ago. We explore how common bridge jobs are among today’s retirees, and how uncommon traditional retirements have become. Design & Methods: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we explore the work histories and retirement patterns of a cohort of retirees aged 51 to 61 in 1992 over a ten-year time period in both a cross-sectional and longitudinal context. Bridge job determinants are examined using bivariate comparisons and a multinomial logistic regression model of the bridge job decision.”

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 704

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine the experiences of retirees who were aged 51 to 61 in 1992 and therefore who were 61 to 71 in 2002, Cahill and his colleagues found, “men and women who left their career jobs and were in excellent or very good health took on bridge jobs” in 55 (54.5% as listed on Table 6, p.27) to 60 percent (59.7% as listed on Table 6, p.27) of cases. “Those who departed with self-assessed fair or poor health made the transition to bridge jobs less than 40 percent of the time.” (p.13)

Cahill, E. K., Giandrea, D. M., & Quinn, F. J. (2005, September 29). Are traditional retirements a thing of the past? New evidence on retirement patterns and bridge jobs. Working paper. Retrieved July 18, 2006, from http://ideas.repec.org/p/boc/bocoec/626.html

“This paper investigates whether permanent, one-time retirements are coming to an end just as the trend towards earlier and earlier retirements did nearly 20 years ago. We explore how common bridge jobs are among today’s retirees, and how uncommon traditional retirements have become. Design & Methods: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we explore the work histories and retirement patterns of a cohort of retirees aged 51 to 61 in 1992 over a ten-year time period in both a cross-sectional and longitudinal context. Bridge job determinants are examined using bivariate comparisons and a multinomial logistic regression model of the bridge job decision.”

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 705

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine the experiences of retirees who were aged 51 to 61 in 1992 and therefore who were 61 to 71 in 2002, Cahill and his colleagues found, “men and women who have no health insurance on their FTC* job are most likely to take a bridge job if they leave their career job, as 78 percent of these uninsured men and 74 percent of the women did. Also, both men and women who lose health insurance coverage when leaving a FTC* job are more likely to exit the labor force completely than other workers in the sample.” (p.14)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 706

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine the experiences of retirees who were aged 51 to 61 in 1992 and therefore who were 61 to 71 in 2002, Cahill and his colleagues found, “while only 41 percent of males who left a career job with a defined benefit pension take a bridge job*, nearly 60 percent of their counterparts with no pension and 54 percent with a defined contribution pension do so. Among women, those with defined benefit pension plans only are the most likely to have left the labor force, and the least likely to utilize a bridge job on the way out.” (p. 14)

*The authors explain and define bridge jobs as some individuals /retirees “take on short-duration or part-time jobs after leaving full-time career (FTC) employment. These jobs bridge the gap between FTC employment and complete labor force withdrawal, and are aptly called “bridge jobs.” (p. 4)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 707

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine the experiences of retirees who were aged 51 to 61 in 1992 and therefore who were 61to 71 in 2002, Cahill and his colleagues found that “of the vast majority who had already left their career jobs by 2002, between 62 and 66 percent moved to a bridge job rather than directly out of the labor force.” (p. 6)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 708

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine the experiences of retirees who were aged 51 to 61 in 1992 and therefore who were 61 to 71 in 2002, Cahill and his colleagues found, “in 2002, of those who moved from a career job, 44 percent" (44.1% as listed on Table 5, p.26) “of males aged 65 or older had moved to a bridge job, compared to 59 percent" (58.7% as listed on Table 5, p.26) "of those aged 62 to 64 and 63 percent of men under age 62." “The difference is even more pronounced among women, where it ranges from 78 percent" (77.9% as listed on Table 5, p.26) "for females under age 60, about 60 percent" (58.7% as listed on Table 5, p.26) "for those aged 60 to 64, and only 41 percent" (40.6% as listed on Table 5, p.26) "among women aged 65 years and older." (p. 12-13)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 973

According to the 2003 SHRM Older Workers Survey, organizations are preparing for the possibility of a shortage of workers due to the retiring baby boom generation by: increased training (36%), succession plans/replacement charts (29%), flexible scheduling (21%), created bridge employment (20%), capture institutional memory/organizational knowledge (18%), increased recruiting (16%), phased/gradual retirement (10%), and doing nothing (32%). (p.9, Chart 13).

Society for Human Resource Management. (2003, December). 2003 Eldercare Survey. Alexandria, VA: Burke, E.M.

"Invitations went out to 2,500 SHRM members with 357 invitations returned. The survey received a 20% response rate, with 428 HR professionals completing it. The following report analyzes the results of the survey. It contains numerous tables and charts that capture the participants' responses...The results are first analyzed by overall resonses and then by industry, size, and sector."

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 1550

Using Health and Retirement (HRS) data from 1992 to 2004, Cahill, Giandrea, and Quinn found that 18 percent of men and 31 percent of women had worked since age 50, but not on a full-time career job.

Cahill, K. E., Giandrea, M. D., & Quinn, J. F. (2007). Down shifting: The role of bridge jobs after career employment. (Issue Brief No. 6). Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College Center on Aging & Work/Workplace Flexibility. Retrieved October 30, 2007 from http://agingandwork.bc.edu/documents/IB06_DownShifting_003.pdf

"This Issue Brief focuses on how people leave their career employment and the role that one particular type of flexible work arrangement, bridge jobs, plays in the retirement transitions of older Americans." (p. 1)

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 1551

"Focusing on the War Baby cohort (born 1942-1947), Giandrea, Cahill, and Quinn (2007) found that 23 percent of men with medium-high wage rates ($10-$20 per hour in 1998) in 1998 were working bridge jobs in 2004, compared to 41 percent of men earning low wages (less than $6 per hour), 39 percent of men earning medium-low wages ($6-$10 per hour), and 30 percent of men earning high wages ($20 or more per hour)."

Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs

Statistic # 2178

A 2007 analysis of data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) showed that individuals "at both ends of the wage distribution had higher rates of bridge job employment than did those in the middle. A similar U-shaped pattern existed by job type, with those at the ends (low skilled, blue collar and high skilled, white collar) more likely than others to have moved to bridge job employment after leaving a career job." (fig. 5, p. 6-7)