fit can help your employer in a difficult economy. Employers need to cut costs and improve efficiency. The pre-retirement work life fit you want to propose may help achieve your employer's objectives. If you reduce your schedule or switch to a consultant status, there are direct salary and benefit cost savings, not to mention the retention of your job knowledge. If you want to shift hours, perhaps you could cover clients or customers in other time zones that are currently underserved. If you want to work from home a couple days a week, you could share an office with another telecommuter and save real estate costs.

Recent events may have caused many to radically rethink their retirement plans. But it's not all bad news for these retirees-interrupted; there are still countless work-life fit options that can provide money and work-life flexibility. •

Cali Williams Yost is the author of “Work+Life: Finding the Fit That's Right for You” and a consultant on work-life flexibility issues.