Retirement certainly isn’t what it used to be. Now it includeswork. And maybe it isn’t retirement at all.

That said, employers claim they’re ready to support those whowant to work past age 65, but boomers themselvesaren’t so sure. The disconnect means employers have a lot of workto do if they truly want to see themselves as supportive of boomerswho are easing out of the workplace slowly, or who want to stayimmersed.

That’s according to a new report from the Transamerica Centerfor Retirement Studies, which said that as boomers reinventretirement to suit their own needs—one of which is money, andanother of which is health care—employers think they’re betterprepared to accommodate them than they actually are.

The study “Baby Boomer Workers are Revolutionizing Retirement:Are They and Their Employers Ready?” looked not only at the numberof boomers whose idea of retirement includes work (52 percent planto keep working even after they retire) and those who plan to workpast 65 or don’t plan to retire at all (65 percent), but also atthe employers who say they’re good with the idea (88 percent). Butthe reality indicates a wide gulf between the two.

Among boomers planning to remain in the workplace, 62 percentsay it’s because they need money or the benefits. However, 34percent say they want to work for enjoyment; that includes 18percent who say it’s so they can stay involved and 16 percent whoenjoy what they do.

But while the boomers who do foresee retirement in theirfuture—or only want to work part time—they might like to ease intoa less demanding working life, those very supportive employersdon’t actually have strategies in place to support such actions.Not only that, but boomers don’t really believe employers aresupportive, regardless of what those employers might say.

And that’s borne out by the ease with which employees cantransition into part-time or less demanding or stressful work.Although 87 percent of employers say their older workers are “avaluable resource for training and mentoring,” 86 percent believethey’re “an important source of institutional knowledge” and 82percent say they bring “more knowledge, wisdom and life experience”to the job, employers fail to take advantage of all thesebenefits.

Only 48 percent of employers have practices in place to enableshifting from full time to part time; even fewer (37 percent) allowtaking on new positions that are less stressful or demanding.Boomer employees remain even more skeptical, with only 21 percentbelieving their employer will allow them to shift from full time topart time and only 12 percent saying their employer will allow themto move into less stressful or demanding jobs.

In addition, 57 percent of employers believe older workers havehigher health care costs and 28 percent saythey have higher disability costs. The good thing is that only 4percent say older workers are less productive.

Still, “Employers have a tremendous opportunity to engagepre-retirees in succession planning, training and mentoring whichcan be beneficial from an overall workforce management perspectivefor both the employer and employees involved,” said CatherineCollinson, president of TCRS, in a statement. “However, ourresearch found that only 35 percent of employers are tapping intothis opportunity.”