Living in Arizona, Dean Young can see retirement living around him. Three years ago, he could have become part of that community.

A partner at Henry & Horne, a Leading Edge Alliance firm, Young turned 65—the mandatory retirement age for partners.

"I've worked for the firm since 1961. I always work. When it comes time to retire, what do you do?," Young says.

His response was "work less." For the last three years, by 9 a.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays Young is at his desk. By 4 p.m., he has left for the day.

"I went to three days right away (after official retirement). I take trips, cruises, vacations. It's the flexibility," Young says.

"That leaves plenty of time—a four-day weekend to go to the mountains or the beach," he says. From Feb. 15 through April 15, an accountant's busy season, he works more often.

"It's becoming more normal as time goes on. My girlfriend doesn't want me at home all the time," Young says with a chuckle. "I have two sons in Scottsdale and spend as much time as possible with them and I play golf."

Young is far from alone. A recent survey by Merrill Lynch showed only 17 percent of Baby Boomers (a generation that started turning 60 this year) say they intend to stop working for pay throughout in retirement.

Young's clients have stayed with him during this transition. His firm also has worked with him to introduce the next generation of partners on many of his accounts. "It's about relationships. These people don't want me to go away," he says. "Clients can always reach me. I think that's important."

So far Young says he likes the part-time arrangement.

"To me it's an ideal situation. I don't feel old," he says. "If you quit, your mind goes dead and your body follows. It's wise to continue.

"Now I can't foresee a day I quit coming to the office."

Less traditional, more opportunities

Carina Diamond, a director at Leading Edge Alliance firm subsidiary SS&G Investment Services, says she hears from clients who feel similarly to Young.

"I see a wide variety, less traditional scenarios," she says. "They say, 'why would I want to retire? I love what I am doing.'"

Other clients, she says, are eager to retire from their existing work to follow their passions. "I'm seeing more and more people in their 20s, 30s and 40s understanding what retirement preparation takes.

"Some follow the dream financially. They don't want to work. They want to work for not-for-profit organizations. They want to go on adventure travel. I've seen physicians, dentists go into the Peace Corps at age 50."

Diamond says she first suggests anyone wanting to change their lifestyle dramatically, such as going into the Peace Corps, take a couple weeks of vacation to live the new lifestyle and see if that's what they really want to do, she says.

A path that chose her

Florence Kranitz, an SS&G client, didn't dream for her current "retirement" years. The passion found her after her husband was diagnosed with and succumbed to a rare, fatal brain disorder known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD).

During his illness, she came in contact with two women in Florida who had started a foundation, primarily a Web site, in 1993, to raise awareness about the disease. They had one conference. "So much needed to be done," Kranitz says. She got involved.

The Florida women also were raising families and did not have the significant time necessary to advance the efforts of the CJD Foundation. After reaching a mutual understanding, Kranitz worked alongside the two for seven or eight months, then brought the foundation to Ohio, where Kranitz lives, in October 2002.

As owner of an advertising business, Kranitz says she never had an epiphany that CJD awareness and advocacy would be her next path in life.

"I just realized advertising was not part of my life," she says of her decision to go full-time with the foundation work. "I gave the employees the business."

But she kept the office space and today operates the foundation with a full-time executive director, a full-time administrative assistant and a part-time administrative assistant.

"My family, my children, told me to slow down," Kranitz says. Then they got involved in the foundation as well. "When they see we're accomplishing things, they're not quite as vociferous (about her slowing down)."

Kranitz says the foundation has been successful in raising its profile over the last few years. "We're very involved with the Food & Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health."

But, she says, the focus is on the families affected by the disease. She says one year the foundation had its family conference in Washington, D.C. During part of the gathering, participants were given advocacy training then went to Capitol Hill the next day to push their elected officials for research money, public policy, etc.

In addition, two years ago the foundation created a professional DVD on CJD shown to medical students and professionals at hospitals throughout the world. "It has been distributed in 17 countries," says Kranitz who also serves on an FDA advisory committee that meets nationally and internationally.

"We're hoping to start work this fall on a second DVD about infection control and funeral issues," she says.

Kranitz says the foundation is careful about how it spends its money. "There isn't a penny that goes out that isn't needed," she notes.

Over the last few years, Kranitz says her attitude about her work has changed, though her passion has not. "I used to look every day at what we hadn't accomplished. I stopped doing that awhile ago," she says. The real proof that good work is happening is when a family affected by the disease says thanks for the help.

"It's work. It's what I do," Kranitz says. How long does she plan to continue working?

"As long as I have the strength and feel like I am making a difference," she says.

A new career

Jim Kollaer, a 60-something Houstonian, says he has to keep working because his son is still in college. "Besides, I get bored," he adds with a laugh.

A little more than a year ago, Kollaer embarked on what he calls his "fourth career." At the time he was president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, the city's chamber of commerce, world trade and economic development organization. He had been there 15 years, long beyond the average three years for a person in that role, Kollaer says.

When the partnership started a new strategic plan, it was time for a change for him as well.

In Kollaer's tenure, the partnership had doubled its board, totaling more than 100 executives and CEOs, including a former U.S. president, from the Houston area. People used to running multi-billion-dollar entities typically do not sit quietly on the sidelines of a group devoted to the growth of Houston's economy. Kollaer was busy.

"I had two full-time assistants, 135 board members and 80 staff," Kollaer says. "Now I share an assistant, work with six partners and no board."

Today, Kollaer is an executive vice president/partner at the Staubach Company, a global real estate advisory firm. He represents corporate clients looking for office space in Houston and the rest of the country.

Kollaer says he had known Roger Staubach, owner of the company (who embarked on this career after retiring as a professional football player), in Kollaer's first career in real estate, and Staubach asked him to consider working for his company.

Kollaer, who also is an architect, says he enjoys what he is doing now but that doesn't mean he sees himself working forever.

He has experienced a couple of health issues in the past.

"At 70, I might see some scaling back," Kollaer says.

Of course, not all his friends and colleagues have embarked on a new career as they approached official retirement.

One man "retired" by selling his business, which gave him a nest egg to do other things. That includes houses in Aspen and Houston and golf every day, Kollaer says.

"Others start new businesses," he adds. A former CEO of a major oil company, whom Kollaer knows, has spent the last five years as a venture capitalist, putting money into start-up companies until they come onto the market.

Another friend chose a new part-time career, consulting on real estate for a bank executive who is evaluating real estate loans.

Job portability—advanced by technology—also allows people to work from locations around the country (including their home) and be tied into their clients and their company.

In addition, some follow the "soul work" path, spending their time giving back to the community through the ministry or other volunteer work.

"It's almost as though you can design retirement any way you want," Kollaer says.

"I guess the difference from the idea that you work 40 years, retire with a pension, sit on the porch is that there are so many alternatives, so many options," he says. "To me, it's an incredible choice."

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