With the paid workforce aging rapidly, many individuals are transitioning into retirement. Nearly two thirds of retirees continue engaging in some form of paid work after retiring, and in the past few years, this percentage has increased. The term bridge employment is used to describe the pattern of labor force participation that older workers engage in after leaving their career jobs but before they fully withdraw from the labor force. It includes any type of paid employment, whether part-time, full-time, or self-employment. The entry first explains bridge employment and presents theories that have been established about the transition into full retirement. It then provides an array of antecedents of bridge employment and concludes with the benefits for retirees.

Although the term bridge employment implies that a ...