FIGURE 6-1 Labor-force participation rates for older workers, by sex, 1948-2015.

SOURCE: Adapted from U.S. General Accounting Office (2001, p. 9).

eligibility for Social Security benefits or to mean the total cessation of paid employment. Most older workers, according to a variety of studies (e.g., AARP, 2002), say they would prefer to continue to be engaged in some kind of work following their retirement, and a significant number of full-time retirees say they would like to be employed. Many workers view the years approaching retirement as a time for “midcourse corrections” (Moen and Freedman, 2003) rather than a final exit from employment. Instead of full-time leisure, workers and retirees in their 50s, 60s, and 70s (what Moen [2003] calls the “midcourse” years) are increasingly seeking more work options: reduced hours, more time off over the year, special project or contract work, part-time work, and even the opportunity to start second (or third) careers (including unpaid community service). In response, growing numbers of employers are providing a variety of options to bridge the passage from full-time career employment to full-time (complete) retirement (e.g., Watson Wyatt Worldwide, 1999). Programs like these may be especially beneficial for working caregivers who often need to decrease their work hours or have flexible work schedules to meet their caregiving responsibilities. The Cornell Retirement and Well-Being Study (Dentinger and Clarkberg, 2002) found that women caring for their husbands were five times more likely to retire than those without such care