Influences on the Bridge Employment Decision Among Older USA Workers

This study examines four organizational and personal variables (voluntariness of retirement, organizational flexibility, pre-retirement planning, and anticipated financial rewards) to determine their influence on the retirement decisions of older workers. The retirement decisions being studied are: considering early retirement, continuing to work, or obtaining bridge employment either in the same job or a different job. Results indicate that anticipated financial reward, job flexibility, and voluntariness of retirement are all significant predictors that distinguish older workers in the four retirement decision groups. The implications of these findings for both workers and employers are discussed as well as some of the benefits of utilizing bridge employment as an option when considering early retirement decisions.