What drives people to work in retirement? The role of work–family trajectories, finances, health, and welfare state generosity in bridge employment across Europe

Abstract Bridge employment—retirees performing paid work before permanently retiring—is becoming increasingly common. However, it remains unclear how bridge employment is shaped by people’s work–family trajectories across different welfare states. Using the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and estimating 3-level linear probability models, results show that—compared to continuously full-time employed persons in nuclear families—those who remain single or childless are more likely to have a bridge job out of financial comfort and are less likely to be bridge-employed because of poorer health. Poorer health also prevented mostly nonemployed partnered parents from bridge employment, while financial hardship is a barrier for people who experienced divorce and those who were predominantly part-time, non-, or self-employed. Finances generally suppressed the relationship between work–family trajectories and bridge employment, reflecting the importance of alternative mechanisms, such as social and psychological motivations. Further, the association between people’s finances and bridge employment is weaker if governments spend more on pensions, but only among people aged 65+. This hints at generous state pensions being able to close the gap in bridge employment between people with different work–family trajectories. Higher healthcare expenditures increase bridge employment, especially for healthier retirees. Generally, our findings support theories on cumulative (dis)advantage and the welfare state, indicating that work–family trajectories partly determine bridge employment through finances and health. They also demonstrate that the role of finances and health is conditional on social spending, highlighting the importance of pension and health policies for older adults.