How I'm easing into retirement

Sidney Leibovich was director of the school of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell University up until two years ago, when the professor gave up that post. Now he teaches one semester a year.

It's been difficult, he says, to give up administrative duties; he's no longer involved in long-term projects and planning decisions.

But the change has given him time to figure out what he would do in retirement. And he is able to take extended vacations, such as a three-week safari in Tanzania, with his wife Gail, a retired bank vice president.

"Work has always been a big part of my life, and I wasn't sure I wanted to quit," says Leibovich. "Phasing in is like hedging my bets. I work half the year and have the rest of the year off to practice retirement."

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