Retirement in Transition, Work Relax or Reboot?
| On September 15 and 16, 2011, the Forum on Contemporary Issues in Society (FOCIS) at Wayne State University presented “Retirement in Transition: Work, Relax or Reboot?” The two-day symposium took place on our Detroit campus and sought to explore the changing work cycle of Americans and how the emerging “new normal” affects the way people think about retirement. Former Secretary of Labor, bestselling author and CNBC contributor Robert Reich delivered the keynote address, a broad yet incisive discussion of the difficult choices to be made by workers approaching retirement, their extended work cycles, and the encore careers that many aging workers choose to pursue once their traditional careers have ended. Other featured presenters included Marc Freedman, author, social entrepreneur and noted authority on the changing definition of retirement; and Roger Ferguson, president and CEO of TIAA-CREF. Wayne State University President Allan Gilmour also gave a special presentation, sharing observations of his transition from company executive to university president. The agenda for the remainder of the conference addressed the considerable impact that an array of new realities have on perceptions and expectations about retirement and the implications for individuals, colleges and universities, non-profit organizations and businesses. |