“To retire or not to retire” is no longer the question, it seems. These days, most Americans over 50 are gradually phasing into retirement, instead of, say, taking off for Fiji never to work again. That’s the finding from recent research that looked at how 20,000 Americans over 50 exited from full-time career jobs between 1992 and 2010. Results showed that traditional retirement was not the path most taken:

***Bridge job—left full-time job for part-time or full-time job elsewhere — 57% of men and 54% women.
***Unretired – left work for a year or two but returned — 13% of both men and women.
***Phased retirement – reduced workload at current job — 11% to 14% of men and 6% to 9% of women.
***Traditional retirement – exited workforce to focus on personal interests and goals — fewer than 25% of men and women.