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Low unemployment and a steadily growing economy have made finding skilled workers an ongoing problem.

Some companies are turning to retirement-age workers for solutions. At the news website HR Dive, writer Pamela DeLoatch looked at the trend.

“Employees who are eligible to retire but aren’t yet prepared to stop working might choose to take on new jobs elsewhere, but some companies have found value in encouraging workers nearing retirement to think about the transition in new ways — leading to the concept of the phased retirement,” she says.

This is still a pretty new development, she points out. The Society for Human Resource Management said that while the idea is gaining traction, only 13% of employers offered informal phased retirement programs in 2017.

A number of factors are involved. In addition to the need for skilled labor among businesses (the country has had more job openings than people looking for work for several months now), retirement-age employees are healthier and living longer. Plus, many believe they are not financially prepared to stop working at the traditional retirement age of 65.

Read more.