title: The influence of unpaid work on the transition out of full-time paid work.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Continued employment after retirement and engagement in unpaid work are both important ways of diminishing the negative economic effects of the retirement of baby boomer cohorts on society. Little research, however, examines the relationship between paid and unpaid work at the transition from full-time work. Using a resource perspective framework this study examines how engagement in unpaid work prior to and at the transition from full-time work influences whether individuals partially or fully retire.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study used a sample of 2,236 Americans between the ages 50 and 68, who were interviewed between 1998 and 2008. Logistic regression was used to estimate transitioning into partial retirement (relative to full retirement) after leaving full-time work.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the odds of transitioning into part-time work were increased by continuous volunteering (78%) and reduced by starting parental (84%), grandchild (41%), and spousal (90%) caregiving and unaffected by all other patterns of engagement in unpaid work.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that volunteering is complementary with a transition to part-time work, and starting a new caregiving role at this transitioncreates a barrier to continued employment. In order to provide workers the opportunity to engage in the work force longer at the brink of retirement, it may be necessary to increase the support mechanisms for those who experience new caregiving responsibilities.
authors.affiliation: Carolina Program for Health and Aging Research, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Institute on Aging, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-1030, USA. carrdc@email.unc.edu
authors.forename: Dawn C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.forename: Ben Lennox
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Kail
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012179:Retirement; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D014838:Volunteers; D014937:Work