The rhetoric and reality of phased retirement policies

Phased retirement can be an important arrangement for societies making the transition to an older work force. However, the uptake of these type of programs is quite low. In this paper we compare the older worker and employer perspective on using these programs. While older workers point the importance of organizational barriers for refraining from use of phased retirement arrangements, employers hardly seem to see a role for themselves even though they acknowledge the potential positive impact of phased retirement in extending working careers. Phased retirement is seen as a private affaire by employers. The large gap between the potential and actual use of these programs remains worrisome and may be exemplary for similar well-intended programs at extending the working life.