Helping Your Employees Make the Retirement Transition

In yesterday’s Advisor, we reviewed options for transitioning employees into retirement and how such programs benefit employers; today, how your partial retirement program can benefit employees as well.

A partial retirement program can be a good incentive for your workers to stick around longer than they would if they had to keep working full-time. Employees who are inspired to be loyal will, naturally, be retained, and the program may also help to drive engagement. In this way, programs that benefit the employee are good for the company.

Employee Benefits of Taking Partial or Trial Retirement

Employees benefit from these types of programs for many reasons, including:

• Partial or trial retirement programs can make the life transition easier. There is an element of psychological stress that accompanies any major life change, including retirement. Phasing this transition eases the stress. Anything that eases the transition can help to stave off anxiety and depression that may accompany retirement for some employees.

It’s the brave new world of HR. Start your strategic thinking with BLR’s new practical guide: HR Playbook: HR’s Game Plan for the Future.

• Partial retirement can provide a little bit of additional income (as opposed to full retirement, where active income disappears) so that employees require less immediate drawdown of their saved retirement funds. This can ease financial difficulties for those who may not have a large amount saved.
• Working part-time can allow individuals to remain productive while dealing with health concerns as they age. 
• The arrangement typically offers a lot of flexibility, allowing the employee to pursue other paths at the same time, such as hobbies or time with family.
• If extra time off is used by the employee to volunteer or take on other new roles, valuable connections can be made to ease the transition to full retirement later.

What do you think? Has your organization considered offering any type of partial, phased, or trial retirement options? Would you consider it?

Helping employees transition into retirement is just one of the many things that might be expected of a human resources professional. From compensation plans to engagement to development, the brave new world of HR is here. Are you prepared for changes that are unparalleled in scope and impact?

• Employees all over the world, many of whom you’ve never met in person
• Technological advances and big data
• Talent management challenges like Millennials managing Baby Boomers you once thought would have retired years ago
• Big data on everything from hiring strategies to retention predictions
• Sweeping regulatory changes in the areas of health care, immigration, and privacy that have necessitated massive changes in the way you do business
• And the new normal—doing more … with less

HR 2015? Time to start planning with BLR’s new HR Playbook. Find out more or order here—HR Playbook: HR’s Game Plan for the Future.

It’s a lot to keep track of—and it’s not going to get easier. To help you get your head around big-picture strategy for 2015 and beyond, HR’s Game Plan for the Future provides a detailed rundown of trends, case studies, and best practices in the following areas:

• Recruiting and Hiring
• Onboarding
• Social Media and Technology
• Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS)
• Flexibility and Work/Life Balance
• Outsourcing
• Diversity
• Talent Management
• Employee Engagement and Retention
• Succession Planning
• Telecommuting

Find out more or order here—HR’s Game Plan for the Future.