Ask a Retirement Coach: How To Approach Working Part Time in Retirement

Many people would like to ease into retirement by working part time. But how do you approach this topic with your employer?

Gary Foster

5 min read.

Dear Retirement Coach;

I'm 62 and am working full time. I really enjoy my job but would like to maybe slow down a bit and start to ease into retirement. Ideally, I would love to reduce my work week to about 2 to 3 days a week for a couple of years before heading into full time retirement.

The challenge is I don't know how to approach my boss about doing this. From what I know, no one else in the organization is working part time so I would be the first to do this.

I'm also not ready for full time retirement so I don't want to open a conversation only to set myself up to not be given new assignments or opportunities or even worse be let go because they know I'm thinking about retirement.

How would you suggest I approach this?

Any advice you have would be appreciated.

Bev

First of all, Bev, it’s good that you are proceeding with caution on this idea.

You are certainly not alone in your desire to “phase out” of your job. In fact, according to a recent Transamerica Retirement Survey of Workers, 45% of workers envision a “phased retirement.”

Unfortunately, corporate America isn’t yet aligning with that employee vision.

Although improving, a recent survey by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) revealed that only 15% of organizations offer some employees the option through an informal program and only 6% have a formal program. A key finding of the SHRM survey was that employers prefer to limit the program to high-performers and those with critical, in-demand skills.

That alone offers a clue as to how you need to approach this.

Here are some suggested steps to take:

Determine precedence.

You’ve completed the first step by determining that there is no informal or formal program at your company.

Evaluate the potential drawbacks.

Find out what impact this change would have on these five areas:

Health care coverage – will it change or cost more?
Pension payout penalties – if you have a defined benefit pension, you may be penalized.
Pension / 401K contributions – will the company allow you to continue to participate?
Social security payments – will the reduced salary force you to take Social Security early?
Life insurance coverage and payouts – cutting your pay could cut the insurance payout.

Assess your value.

This is really critical. Let’s face it. The boss isn’t likely to cut you a special deal if you are not highly regarded. Mere competence in a low-profile job isn’t likely to get it done for you.

You need to be a standout in a mission-critical role.

What is your honest, realistic, and objective assessment of the value that you bring to the company in your current role? How indispensable are you?
How critical is your role to the overall day-to-day operation and overall success of the company?
Can this job realistically be done on a reduced schedule?
Are you alone in your role? If there are others doing what you do, how will your move impact their role?
If you are tenured and have a fairly high salary, could the job be done by two part-time people at your salary but without the company having to provide benefits? That has dispensable and early unintentional retirement written all over it.

Start with the boss and prepare yourself to “sell” the idea.

Since there is no precedent, you will need to sell your boss on the idea by convincing them.

Here are some selling points to consider:

Emphasize that the processes and systems that you’ve refined through the years will allow you to perform at the expected level with no drop off in productivity while saving the company money in salary.
Employers don’t want to lose good people. To allay that concern, commit to helping the company recruit and train someone to take your role.
If confident in your assessment of your value, don’t hesitate to remind the boss that you are high-performing employee in a high-demand role for which replacement won’t be easy. Hence, #2 above will resonate stronger.

Working with Human Resources

If you are successful in selling your boss, then it’s a matter of working out the details with Human Resources and your boss.

You should be prepared for some push back from HR because they are the policy and procedure people which means this is likely more work for them, and they may have some concern about what setting this precedent may mean going forward to the rest of the organization.

On the other hand, if your HR department is aware of changing employment models, they know phased retirement is trending as the workforce continues to age and the competition for talent tightens. You may just be the kick-start they need to be ahead of the curve and to begin to move them toward developing a formal plan.

I hope that helps Bev. Good luck.

Do you have any questions about the non financial aspects of retirement that you would like a Retirement Coach to answer? Send them to [email protected].

About the Author

Gary Foster is a former executive healthcare recruiter, over-70 “portfolio-career” guy, and audacious ager dedicated to helping folks in the over-50 crowd adopt a new, healthier, and more purposeful perspective on the second half of life. With national certifications as a retirement coach, résumé writer, and online presence expert plus over 18 years of career coaching and recruiting experience, he coaches, speaks, and writes publicly on the issues of mid-life career transitions, planning for purposeful retirement, and achieving better health and greater longevity. You can reach Gary through his website: Make Aging Work.