Does Phased Retirement Increase Vitality in Older Workers? Findings from a 3­Year Follow­Up Panel Study.

This study investigates the effects of phased retirement on vitality and how this effect differs for workers dealing with work, family and health strain and low levels of baseline vitality. We used two waves of the NIDI Pension Panel Survey, conducted in 2015 and 2018, in the Netherlands. Data from 1,247 older workers, of whom 10% opted for phased retirement, were analyzed. Vitality is assessed in three ways: a composite measure of vitality, and its subcomponents energy and fatigue. Conditional change regression models demonstrated that transitioning into phased retirement improved vitality and energy levels and reduced fatigue. Older workers with low energy levels at baseline showed greater improvements in energy after using phased retirement: this result was not evident for those with low vitality and high fatigue at baseline. Phased retirement improved vitality for workers with high work strain. Vitality for workers with family or health strain was not improved. Interestingly, the positive effects of phased retirement were equally visible among workers with and without adverse health conditions and caregiving responsibilities. Our study provides evidence on the benefits of phased retirement as a method to sustainably ensure healthy aging of not only vulnerable but all older workers.

Retirement Trajectories in Countries with Flexible Retirement Policies but Different Welfare Regimes.

We examine how both the welfare regime and health affect retirement trajectories in countries with flexible retirement policies using longitudinal methods and harmonized panel data from two social-democratic (Sweden and Denmark) and two liberal welfare regimes (Chile and the United States). An early retirement trajectory, which represents retirement in the early 60s, is the most frequent in all countries, although it is less prevalent in liberal than in social-democratic regimes. Adverse health conditions are more frequent among early retirees in liberal but not in social-democratic regimes. Overall, we do not find evidence for an inciting effect of flexible retirement policies on working life extension. However, welfare regimes substantially affect late-life labor force participation.

Flexibilizing the Retirement Transition: Why, How and for Whom? Conceptual Clarifications, Institutional Arrangements and Potential Consequences.

In many countries, flexibilizing the retirement transition is seen as an innovative policy which may help to solve some of the problems ageing societies face. The paper aims at specifying what is or can be meant by flexibilizing the retirement transition. The proposed conceptual framework contributes to a better understanding of the potential individual and structural consequences of flexibilized retirement transitions. It spells out four dimensions based on which measures of flexibilization can be differentiated, compared and examined more closely: aggregate vs. individual flexibilization (the latter resulting in gradual retirement), the temporal form and reference of flexibilizing measures, accessibility and eligibility, and financial risks and costs resulting from flexible transitions to retirement. These dimensions of comparison are exemplified by referring to existing measures of retirement flexibilization, in particular wage subsidies and partial pensions. Based on the conceptual argument, some of the potential consequences of flexibilized retirement transitions are discussed critically and in particular with regard to questions of social inequality. As these reflections show, the framework may also help to unpack the policy logic behind flexibilizing retirement transitions, and the very different interests it may serve.

Erratum: Flexibilizing the Retirement Transition: Why, How and for Whom? Conceptual Clarifications, Institutional Arrangements and Potential Consequences.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2021.734985.].