Suchergebnisse

Preretirement planning programs are joining the expanding list of employee rights in the public sector. Programs are only mandated in slightly more than 25% of government agencies, but at least 52% of them offer programs, with more anticipated shortly. Significant differences exist among federal, state, county and city programs. This longitudinal inter-agency study provides an in-depth analysis of programs for each governmental level then compares and contrasts the findings. References to existing programs within the private sector are made. Program offerings, content, format, eligibility, funding, participation and structure are presented along with anticipated growth rates. Relationships between program availability and early retirement decisions are documented. The use of programs as a strategy to open career paths may backfire and even discourage retirement. Failure of programs to recognize growing diversity in the labor force is explored and recommendations presented for increased innovation and cross agency cooperation.

While preretirement programs today are far more flexible than they were a decade ago, new program development lags behind earlier projections.

This study of more than 725 federal, state and local governmental agencies reports on availability of preretirement planning programs for public employees. Current agency participation rates in preretirement counseling and projections for future programs were established along with content, administration, design, participation and other program characteristics. Results are profiled and compared with several similar studies of organizations within the private sector. The public sector's lag in both participation rates and innovation is documented. Most programs treat retirement as a point in time and fail to recognize it as a complex process and to design programs accordingly. Areas where existing programs need improvement are discussed along with agency perceptions of direct and indirect program benefits. Implications of these findings for future manpower planning strategies are presented.