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)

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.”