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.”