ECONorthwest project director, Kevin E. Cahill, presented findings from a recent paper he co-authored titled, “Do bridge employment transitions exacerbate or mitigate income inequality later in life?,” at the 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). Dr. Cahill and his co-authors used longitudinal data from the nationally-representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to construct older Americans’ work histories as they transitioned from career employment later in life. The team of researchers found that gradual retirement in the form of bridge employment neither exacerbated nor mitigated wealth inequalities, potentially allaying concerns about the potential for disparate financial impacts associated with the gradual retirement process.
