Retirement forces older workers to disconnect with their previous behavioural patterns and economic position. Transition and adjustment from working life to retirement places great psychological pressure and financial distress on older workers, especially those with dependent children. Bridge employment provides a solution for older workers to continue working after retirement while transitioning into retirement slowly and smoothly. As losing the job role has a significant impact on the psychological well-being of retirees, engaging in bridge employment helps to fulfil the important psychological functions of older workers by providing an adaptive style to retirement. This study investigates the influence of retirement planning and job satisfaction on bridge employment. A self-administered questionnaire was used in this study and a total of 523 samples were collected for nine major districts in Sabah. Data were analysed using Partial Least Square (PLS) method version 2.0. The result showed a significant relationship between retirement planning and job satisfaction on bridge employment, explaining 4.7% the variance in bridge employment and job satisfaction was found to be the strongest predictor of bridge employment.

Bridge employment is an act to work by an older worker after official retirement age begins and before engaging in full-retirement. Past researches have recognized that bridge employment has an important value to the organization as they provide a pool of experienced, knowledgeable and well-trained workforce to the organization. At the same time, it also provides an additional pool of funds for older workers to support their life in retirement. The decision to either retire or continue working is never a simple decision, so it is crucial to understand factors influencing retirees’ decision to engage in bridge employment. This study is a pioneer investigation in determining the key factors in influencing the engagement of bridge employment among working professionals in Malaysia via an in-depth interview with successful and unsuccessful retirees. Two key successful retirees or known as “Tokoh Pesara Malaysia” in the Malay language, and the President of Persatuan Persara were the main samples for this preliminary study. The findings of this research served as a basis for questionnaire development with regards to key factors influencing bridge employment adoption in Malaysia.