You may have spent decades saving for retirement, waiting for the day when you could step back from long hours at work and do what you want with your time. But stopping work entirely can be difficult, especially if you love certain aspects of your job. Phasing into retirement — continuing to work part-time, even for just a fraction of your original salary — can provide the perfect balance and make a big difference in your retirement security. The option is increasingly popular: A 2023 survey by Principal Financial found that more than half of workers want to gradually reduce their hours before they eventually stop working. And Fidelity's 2024 State of Retirement Planning survey showed that more than half of all workers plan to continue working part-time in retirement indefinitely.
Flexible retirement can look very different from person to person, depending on the semi-retiree’s preferences and career type. Some people retire from their full-time job and do consulting work in a related field or contract work for their former employer. Others switch to another type of work — taking a part-time job with a nonprofit or a business they’ve always been interested in, for example, or exploring flexible gig work.
