Seeking a softer retirement landing

There is an oft-told story about what happens when a worker at the Stanley Consultants engineering firm decides to retire.

"They say you have the retirement party one day and you come back to work the next," said Mary Jo Finchum, spokeswoman for the Muscatine, Iowa-based company.

Stanley is among the U.S. employers that have offered workers a softer landing into retirement, allowing them to scale back hours as they prepare to take the plunge and move into part-time positions once it's official.

"It's really the best of all worlds," said John Sayles, a 79-year-old planner at Stanley who cut his hours before formally retiring in 2003, but who has continued to work part time in the decade since. "I'll probably do it as long as the company would like me to help out." Continue reading "Seeking a softer retirement landing"