Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
The New York Times
May 14, 2006 Sunday
Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section 3; Column 1; Money and Business/Financial Desk; SUNDAY MONEY: LIVING; Pg. 5

LENGTH: 1218 words

HEADLINE: Golfing and Gardening (and Working) in Retirement

BYLINE: By JULIE BICK

BODY:


TURNING 65, collecting a gold watch and hitting the golf course may be the classic picture of retirement.

But another model seems to be gaining acceptance, particularly among people now at or approaching retirement age. Call it flex-retirement. It involves reduced, but continuing, work -- combined with a cultivation of leisure activities -- sometimes beginning well before 65, and extending long past it.

Kathy Swartout, of Olympia, Wash., 58, for example, retired last year from her job as program director at a community college, and spent eight months focused on yoga, sailing and gardening. Then, in January, she took a full-time job training Washington state government workers on changes to the state welfare program.

She enjoys working, with one major caveat that she believes many people her age share. ''We're tired of the nine-to-five grind,'' she said, ''and want to pursue other interests.''

Her current contract ends in July, but Ms. Swartout -- a former family therapist and manager in a county-level mental health program for children -- says she expects to stay at her post three days a week. ''Working part time balances financial security with family and all the other fun things I want to do,'' she said.

Ms. Swartout may be emblematic of a generational attitude. A 2002 AARP study showed that 71 percent of workers age 45 to 56 plan to work into their retirement years. Thirty-five percent of that group planned to work part time for interest or enjoyment, 11 percent expected to start their own businesses, 7 percent planned to retire from their current jobs, but work full time at something else, and 18 percent planned to work part time mainly for the income.

There are, of course, broad social and economic reasons for the emphasis on continuing work -- notably, the decline in availability of traditional pension plans and health benefits, and the need for older workers to provide for themselves over a lengthening lifespan. Older working people often speak of the intangible benefits of work, including the opportunity to learn something new, to feel valued and to socialize with others.

Many people under 65, who are financially able to do so, have found ways of cutting back their workloads. Dr. Pat Schoenfelder, 57, for example, a radiologist, stopped working full time three years ago. Since then, he and two partners of roughly the same age, have shared duties at North Country Regional Hospital in Bemidji, Minn., each working just 17 weeks a year, to cover the daily needs of the 110-bed hospital.

This arrangement has worked well so far, but Dr. Schoenfelder's partners are planning to reduce their hours further next year. He intends to increase his own office time temporarily, while he helps recruit and train younger doctors to take over the practice.

At some point, he plans to retire from radiology entirely and pursue interests in health care public policy. Might that involve another job? ''You never know,'' he said.

Peter Cappelli, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who studies work force management, said the decline in company pension plans might keep people at work to build up their financial assets. But he expects many to avoid full-time work behind a desk in the main office. ''Baby boomers will use technology to make their workplace more flexible regarding schedules and working off-site -- just like they're doing today,'' he said.

Some retirees will dial their work back to sustain their current spending. ''They work just enough hours to pay the bills, so they don't have to touch their retirement funds,'' said Dr. Schoenfelder, who has observed that practice among some of his friends. Those reduced hours can leave more time for hobbies and travel.

Part-time retirement wasn't always common, of course. Sidney Goldman, 86, a retired businessman in Verona N.J., said people in his generation often faced a clear-cut decision: to work or not to work. He bought a pharmacy when he came home from World War II and went on to create products like candy laxatives and mosquito coils as a serial entrepreneur. ''In my generation, there were the people who retired and the people who kept working,'' he said. ''It was one or the other -- there was no part-time.''

These days, though, in order to keep people on the job, some employers are beginning to accommodate the desire of some older workers for a flexible, phased-in retirement, said Sara E. Rix, senior policy adviser at AARP. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2004 to 2014, the number of workers age 55 or older is expected to increase 49.1 percent, compared with an increase of 2.7 percent for workers under 55. The older group would then make up 21 percent of the labor force, up from 16 percent in 2004.

Some companies are already making efforts to keep their aging work forces content. Borders bookstores in the north have made it possible for some employees to work winters in Florida, for example. ''Our corporate attitude is, if we have a great employee and can accommodate a need they have, we want to do that,'' said Anne Roman, a Borders Group spokeswoman. The company's human resources department is considering a formal policy to allow such seasonal shifts, which now take place on a case-by-case basis. Home Depot started a partnership in 2004 with AARP to attract, hire and retain employees age 50 and older. This includes posting job application information on the AARP Web site and maintaining a booth at the annual AARP member meeting.

Stanley Consultants, an engineering consulting firm in Muscatine, Iowa, offers customized phased-in retirement plans for employees and retirement planning workshops for employees and their spouses.

''The engineering discipline is short of people at all levels in the U.S.,'' said Gregs G. Thomopulos, president and chief executive of Stanley Consultants. ''At the same time, our clients want the most experienced engineers to manage their multihundred-million-dollar construction projects.''

Mr. Thomopulos, 63, who has been with the company 41 years, says he tries to keep his best engineers as long as possible. The company has no mandatory retirement age and nearly a third of all employees are over the age of 50.

Kirk Shore, one of the company's oldest workers at age 76, has been with Stanley Consultants since 1954. He retired officially in 2003, but now works six hours a day on projects of his choice. ''Retirement is nice, but I also like working with the same great people I've been with for 30 or 40 years,'' he said. Mr. Shore also enjoys being with younger employees, who, he said, are eager to learn from him.

BUT corporate policies and programs designed to benefit older workers aren't widespread yet, Ms. Rix of AARP said. ''The data do indicate that workers would like less demanding work in retirement, but don't typically think their employers would allow it,'' she said.

For people now approaching the traditional retirement age, Professor Cappelli said, it makes sense to discuss options with employers. ''Companies won't leap to make changes unless they have to,'' but with an aging work force, social pressures will surely mount. ''There are so many baby boomers,'' he said, ''that when they start to ask, companies will have to listen.''



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GRAPHIC: Photo: Kathy Swartout, 58, with her husband, Mark, and dog Moby, retired last year and spent eight months practicing yoga, sailing and gardening. She began working again this year. (Photo by Kevin P. Casey for The New York Times)