Phased retirement generally involves reducing your work hours and/or responsibilities rather than making an abrupt departure from your organisation on 'retirement' day. It is a gradual move into a new lifestyle, that allows you to enjoy the benefits of work for longer and for your employer to capitalise on your skills and corporate knowledge. You may also want to return to work after retirement, in a casual or contract role.
What are my options?
There are a number of options available to employees considering a phased retirement, such as:
Maintain contact
Even after ‘officially’ retiring some people continue doing some work, often for their former employer. In addition to individuals maintaining contact with collegues and former employers, some businesses have:
- A Return-to-Work Pool, which is a listing of retirees who are available to work for their former employer as contractors.
- An Alumnus Club of all former staff to receive a regular newsletter. This opens up avenues for maintaining contact and learning of social and work opportunities with your former employer.
Wider opportunities
After retirement some people choose to use their expertise to perform periodic work for several businesses. This is sometimes called Portfolio Employment. This can occur concurrently (for example: working for one organisation on Monday and Tuesday, and another on Wednesday) or periodically (for example: one job in summer and another in winter, with other activities in between).
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How can I go about it?
Approaching an employer about your retirement intentions is an important step, and should be done far enough in advance that they have the ability to consider all aspects of your request and how it impacts the business. In preparing for a discussion with you manager, you could consider the following:
- What are your phased retirement preferences?
- What are your employer's business needs?
- What flexible work practices are already implemented in your organisation?
- Can you make use of these practices?
- What impact will working flexibly have on your duties and business outcomes?
- What parts of your current role can be done:
- Flexibly
- By others
- Away from the office
- If you reduce your hours/responsibilities, what areas of the organisation would you like to focus on?
- What corporate knowledge do you hold which should be passed on to other staff?
With this information on hand, and well prepared, your phased retirement needs can more easily be agreed by your employer.
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