Getting a taste of retirement with freedom to work

Retirement is a big decision that people look forward to for decades. While the prospect of spending more time with loved ones or traveling the world is exciting, the abrupt social and financial transition can be intimidating. How do you really know when you’re ready?

Through a one-of-a-kind program at Abbott called Freedom to Work, employees can reduce their work schedule and gradually transition into retirement on their own terms.

A better way to retire

Freedom to Work was created in 2008 to give Abbott employees more freedom over how they spend their time leading up to their retirement.

“Employees nearing retirement often have concerns about how leaving the workforce will affect their finances, their social life, and their sense of purpose,” said Mary Moreland, Chief Human Resources Officer at Abbott. “With Freedom to Work, we wanted to provide employees with a flexible program that allows them to explore what retirement will be like before making the decision.”

Through Freedom to Work, employees who are 55 and over who have worked for Abbott for more than 10 years can reduce their responsibilities and schedule  to either four days per week or an additional lump sum of 5 weeks’ time off, which can be used at the employee’s discretion throughout the year. Each of these plans comes with a proportional reduction in salary, but employees are still eligible for all of Abbott’s benefits, such as Abbott’s 401(k) match and their usual amount of PTO.

“Freedom to Work is designed to empower our retirement-age employees to live their best lives, whether that’s traveling the world, visiting their grandchildren, or simply taking extra time to decompress after the work week,” Moreland said.

Taking retirement for a test drive

When Betsy Conway, a business manager in third party manufacturing in Columbus, OH, began considering retirement, she knew she wasn’t quite ready to take the plunge.

“I love my job, and I wasn’t quite ready to fully retire, but I wanted to establish a better balance between my home life and work, especially as my parents were starting to require more care,” Conway said.

She had heard about Freedom to Work through a coworker and decided to give it a shot. Together with her manager, they agreed on a plan where she would gradually ramp down her responsibilities to take five weeks of time off.

Even just one year into the program, Betsy has found the extra time off to make a big difference.

“I’m looking forward to taking more time off around the holidays so I can help my parents fly to Florida for the winter,” Conway said.

Paving the way for the next generation

When an employee retires, they take their expertise, knowledge, and industry relationships with them. But, at a time when there are more Americans turning 65 per day than ever before, this can create a “brain drain” scenario where a company’s most experienced employees are leaving before they’re able to transfer their knowledge.

So, in exchange for the additional time away from work, employees enrolled in Freedom to Work spend a portion of their remaining work hours transferring their knowledge and expertise to other, more junior members of their team.

"I'm a laser specialist, and it's very hard to find qualified replacements for my particular role,” said Robert Poole, a manufacturing engineer in Temecula, CA. “Through Freedom to Work, I've been training a replacement for my role so when I do retire, my team is well-staffed to continue the important work we do in medical devices.”

The best of both worlds

Freedom to Work is a win-win for employees and Abbott: employees are able to create a retirement experience that’s right for them, while Abbott is able to better plan for when employees eventually do decide to retire.

For some employees, Freedom to Work has helped alleviate pressures that would have otherwise forced them to retire before they were ready.

“It can be a lot to juggle my work responsibilities with caring for my loved ones, so it’s a huge relief to have extra time off to reset after the workweek,” Conway said. “I’m a happier person because of Freedom to Work.”