(MONEY Magazine) – Bill Young never truly believed he would retire. A third-generation Los Angeles fire fighter, he loved his job--the action, the camaraderie, the daring rescues. But after 33 years of racing up and down ladders lugging heavy firehoses, his battered knees couldn't keep up any longer. Young was forced to retire last year at age 57. Fortunately, his pension and savings generate a solid income of $70,000 a year--enough to provide for his family, including wife Linda, 50, and six children (four at home). But despite his stiff knees, the energetic Young wasn't ready for a rocking chair. Instead, he decided to pursue a new career, one that seemed as exciting and fulfilling as fire fighting: acting.

Flash-forward one year, and meet Bill Dempsey (his stage name), working actor. The photogenic and personable fire fighter is making a smooth transition from hook-and-ladder to Hollywood. So far, he has landed small parts on TV shows like Seventh Heaven and The Practice, as well as a recurring role on the soap opera General Hospital (as a fire chief, no less). The roles don't pay much--he's earned only about $20,000. But, says Young, "It's not about the money--it's about following your passion. I'm having the time of my life."

Call him a boomerang retiree. Despite the lure of early retirement, more and more older workers are returning to the labor force or refusing to leave it in the first place. For some, a job is a financial necessity; but for many more, like Young, it's simply a matter of choice. After enjoying busy and stimulating lives, few people want to downshift into neutral just because they have a measure of financial security. Moreover, as life spans continue to increase--many Americans can expect to live well into their nineties--the idea of 30 or 40 years of endless rounds of golf holds little appeal. "We are at the beginning of a retirement revolution," says Helen Dennis, a lecturer at USC's school for gerontology. "Most retirees will not want to sit around for decades--they're going to look for opportunities to be productive."

Of course, most of us can't expect a quick segue into a show-business career. But retirement does offer the opportunity to make a fresh start and, if you like, the promise of a dream job. "It's a wonderful feeling to work at what you love, without the pressure to put food on the table," says Marilyn Dimitroff, a Bloomfield Hills, Mich. financial adviser. "I've seen a number of clients who were feeling old at 50 in the workplace start to feel younger and empowered when they are doing what they really want in retirement." The right moves for you will depend on your qualifications and interests--no blanket prescriptions here. Even so, as Robert Friedland, director of the National Academy on an Aging Society, notes, "More and more older people will be working, but the best opportunities will go to those with the right skills."

Several broad trends are combining to change the face of retirement. Today a whopping 90% of working adults intend to work at least part time during their retirement, according to a survey by the Rutgers University center for work force development; nearly 70% said they would work even if they had enough money to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. "Although Americans complain about achieving a balance between their jobs and families, they like to work," says Carl Van Horn, director of the Rutgers center. "And they look at retirement as an opportunity to improve that balance." Moreover, the retirement of the baby-boom generation will push employers to accommodate part-time work, says Van Horn, who adds, "Retiring boomers will have the same sweeping impact as the entrance of women into the work force in the '70s."

The corporate world and federal government are doing their parts to encourage work in retirement. Traditional pension plans, which typically set a retirement age of 65, are being supplanted by defined-contribution plans such as 401(k) accounts, which build as long as you keep working. And Social Security recipients no longer lose benefits if they keep working after age 65. Further, fewer and fewer people can now collect full Social Security benefits at age 65--most baby boomers will have to wait until 66 or 67.

All this comes just as opportunities for older employees, who have traditionally had a harder time finding work, are on the upswing. The thriving economy has pushed unemployment to historic lows. And the labor shortage is likely to continue over the next decade, many economists say, since the 40 million Generation X-ers will provide insufficient replacements for aging boomers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of younger workers ages 25 to 44 in the work force will increase by only 15% by 2008, while the number of workers 55 and older will jump by 48%. Companies are already quicker to hire fiftysomething employees--31.8% of Americans 55 and older were part of the labor force last year, compared with 30% in 1995.

Of course, you may be looking forward to those leisurely days with nothing but 18 holes on the agenda. Then again, you might change your mind. The five retirees we profile here have found satisfying post-career occupations. Three are working primarily because they enjoy it, one seeks both income and an active life, and one is working as a volunteer. Out of their experiences, you can draw your own lessons.

LURED BACK TO THEIR JOBS

As workers with crucial skills approach retirement age, a growing number of companies are trying to keep them onboard by offering flexible schedules and other benefits. A 1999 Watson Wyatt study found that 16% of large employers--particularly universities and government agencies--offer phased retirements that allow older employees to work part time. Another 28% were considering offering flexible retirement arrangements in the next two or three years.

Sometimes employers resort to luring back workers after they retire, as Bud Stanley, 64, can testify. Originally, Stanley's goal was to retire before age 60--and he did, back in 1996. An accountant for Bechtel, the global engineering firm, Stanley spent more than 30 years managing budgets for massive construction projects around the world. He and his wife Frances, 61, lived all over the United States as well as in Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Along the way, they raised six children. Stanley was making $90,000 a year at retirement and had amassed a six-figure portfolio. The couple figured they'd relax at their homes in Nine Mile Falls, Wash. and in Montana, and visit their 22 grandchildren.

But just before he left the company, Stanley agreed to put his name on Bechtel's call-back list--a roster of retired employees who would be willing to work for short stints. "I never thought I would hear from them," he says frankly. Just five weeks after he retired, he got a call. The company was bidding on a job to clean up the nearby Hannaford nuclear facility and wanted help. Stanley agreed to come back. The team lost that contract, but a few weeks later Bechtel tracked Stanley down again (in typical style, he was on a six-week trip visiting his children) and asked him to help open an office in Brazil--and, oh yes, he could bring his wife.

Since then, Stanley's retirement has become a movable feast. The couple have traveled to Canada, Chile and London for weeks or months at a time. Two years ago, Stanley went to contract status, which means he's paid his old salary, plus cost-of-living increases, whenever he's working. He's even opened a new 401(k) account, which now holds $40,000. "The extra money comes in handy," he says, noting that his Chile stint enabled him to rent beachfront condos in California for a weeklong family reunion.

Now the couple is off to Phoenix, where Stanley will help manage Bechtel's international billing office for two months. "I'll keep working on whatever projects interest me, but I'm leaving time to relax," he says. "Have pencil, will travel."

WHO, ME RETIRE?

A growing number of workers, even those in their late sixties and early seventies, are refusing to retire at all. Last year 13.1% of adults between ages 70 and 74 were still working, up from just 12.5% in 1998.

Priscilla Gilbert, 71, never intends to quit. "I'm just not very good at sitting around," says Gilbert, who got her college degree and her first career job at the age of 40 after raising two sons. The finance manager grabbed a package from Raychem, a chemical-products company, 10 years ago. "I thought it would be the best deal I would get," says the divorced Foster City, Calif. resident. (Raychem was eventually acquired by Tyco International.) An 18-year veteran of the company, she was earning a "high-five-figure" salary, and her pension, 401(k) and other savings left her financially secure.

Right after she left Raychem, Gilbert took the job of controller at Landec, a maker of polymer products. Two years later, worn out by 80-hour weeks, she negotiated a three-day-a-week job at Bain & Co., a consulting firm. After a year, Bain insisted that she work full time. Instead, Gilbert became an independent contractor to Silicon Valley start-ups. For $90 an hour, she sets up systems to handle payroll, bookkeeping, benefits and tax payments. "I get everything running until I can train a full-time employee," she says. "I like the variety."

She also enjoys working with twentysomething dotcommers. "You meet a lot of bright young people," says Gilbert. Being a grandmother has been no drawback to finding work, she says; after a couple of decades in the business, she has a strong network of contacts. And, of course, the sizzling Silicon Valley economy is a big advantage. "In this area, anybody with a set of skills who's not working doesn't want to," she says.

Gilbert wants to work--but only two or three days a week. "It's enough to give me structure and keep me mentally active," she says, "but it's not too demanding." On her days off she visits family, pounds nails for Habitat for Humanity and bikes around San Francisco Bay. "It's wonderful to have such freedom," she says. "I love working, but I never want to work full time again."

TAKING A BRIDGE JOB

Not everyone has the financial freedom and flexibility to call all the shots. More than 40% of all retirees, for example, quit their jobs earlier than they had planned, typically because of health reasons or corporate downsizing. Only 14% left because they felt they could really afford an early retirement. As a result, explains Boston College economist Joseph Quinn, roughly one-third to one-half of older Americans take a so-called bridge job--everything from part-time work to a second career or self-employment--for several years. "For most people, retirement is a process, not an event," says Quinn. "They don't leave the workplace all at once."

Burt Cloud, 56, took early retirement from BellSouth last spring even though it meant a financial strain. The former director of labor relations was earning around $100,000, and his pension and savings would generate only about half of what he felt he needed. Cloud could have lived on the payout, but he wasn't ready to cut back--he and his wife Sherry, 54, were building a new four-bedroom house in Sandy Springs, an Atlanta suburb, and paying college tuition for the youngest of their two children. Still, BellSouth, which was going through a corporate reorganization, added an extra year's pay to his package. And, as Cloud says, "I knew I could make the transition to another job."

Cloud, in fact, had already decided to become a real estate agent. "It fit so perfectly," says Cloud, who became intrigued with the field during four corporate moves. "People need a lot of advice and counsel when buying a house, and I like dealing with people." Moreover, after 28 years at BellSouth, Cloud had developed a wide network of friends and associates who could provide leads. "I'm not asking my friends to buy a house from me," he quickly points out. "But if someone asks them for the name of a real estate agent, I'm hoping they'll mention me--this is a 100% referral business."

Before accepting his retirement package, Cloud landed an offer from Northside Realty, one of the largest locally owned real estate firms. He took the licensing exam last spring and in May began reporting to Northside's Sandy Springs office, just three miles from his new house. "I'm working harder now than I ever have, maybe 50 to 60 hours a week," he says. So far, he has landed two exclusive listings, including a five-bedroom mansion with a $1.4 million asking price. "I'm very happy and confident," he declares. "I'm not setting limits on myself."

GIVING BACK

Nearly 50% of Americans age 55 or older currently volunteer, according to a 1999 survey by Independent Sector, a Washington, D.C. group that tracks nonprofits; that's up 4% from 1995. Marc Freeman, founder of Civic Ventures, a San Francisco nonprofit that encourages older volunteers, expects the trend to continue: "We have a growing pool of skilled people who are looking for meaningful ways to give back."

Take Michael Littman. The 57-year-old Brooklyn native has always been an enthusiastic tennis player, a sport he picked up as a kid. And as he worked his way up from public school teacher in Brooklyn to dean of a high school on New York City's Lower East Side, he continued to play, eventually becoming a certified teaching pro. For much of his career, he held a second job at the New York Junior Tennis League, founded by the late Arthur Ashe, which provides free lessons to low-income kids. "I love to teach, and I love the game," says Littman. "So it made sense to merge the interests--studies show that if a child is interested in a sport, he or she is more likely to go to college."

Courtesy of a generous pension, Littman retired in 1998. As a veteran New York City teacher with 32 years on the job, his payout plus income from an annuity comes to well over $50,000 a year--"about the same amount after taxes as when I was working," he says. His wife Susan, 42, a data processing clerk at pension firm TIAA-CREF, still holds down her job.

So that leaves Littman plenty of time to teach tennis. But now his focus is senior citizens--and he's volunteering his services. In a free program sponsored by the U.S. Tennis Association and the New York City Parks Foundation, he instructs players ages 62 to 90. "You meet wonderful people playing tennis," says Littman happily. "It's such a social sport." He is also quick to point out the lasting benefits of his hobby. "Tennis and golf are the lifetime sports," he says. "They're something you can do throughout your life, and that keeps you young."

As New York City schools scramble to meet a shortage of qualified teachers, Littman is receiving tempting offers to return to work. But for now he is content to stick with his laid-back schedule, which allows him time for his many hobbies, including travel, fishing and golf. He's even taking glass-making classes at a Brooklyn art studio run by his son. "The way I see it," Littman says, "I'm on a five-year mission to relax, slow down and give back. But I haven't precluded teaching again. In a few years, you may see me back at work."