But as far as employers having gotten the basic ideological message about various forms of flextime, I don't think it has come to be a major factor in the labor market - yet. But I'm rooting for it. According to testimony in a Department of Labor study, phased retirement provides a way for companies to manage the diminishing pool of younger workers and reduces the expense of recruiting and training new workers, lowers the chance that retirees will work for competitors and retains institutional memory. Phased retirement is found most often in universities and government agencies. Virginia Commonwealth University's phased retirement plan is an example.
Many people experience grave uncertainty surrounding retirement.
Typical of many phased retirement plans, a tenured professor and the university sign a contract that lets the teacher work a reduced schedule at reduced salary for no more than three years and get full benefits before full retirement, said Edwin E. Blanks, vice provost for academic administration. Phased retirement allows VCU to retain experienced senior faculty while also attracting new scholars, he said. It also is useful in planning for the future. VCU and most other universities will experience a major shift in the work force over the next decade. The proportion of the faculty that will be retiring is staggering - and at a time when demand for higher education is expected to increase, Gottfredson said.