RETIREMENT

If you're hoping to retire as soon as possible with the intention of never working again, you might want to reconsider. Retirees who transition from full-time work to full retirement in one fell swoop actually contract more diseases and function worse doing day-to-day tasks than those who continue to work even just temporarily or part-time, according to a national study published in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.

"Choosing a suitable type of bridge employment will help retirees transition better into full retirement and in good physical and mental health," says co-author Kenneth Shultz, … Read more

J and L Financial Planner Professional is a powerful program that allows users to predict how certain financial events will affect them in the future. Although the program is jam-packed with features, its overwhelming interface makes it a little hard to get used to.

The trial version of the program allows users to view a sample account, and the first screen of the interface shows three graphs representing net worth and incoming and outgoing funds. The rest of the interface is cluttered with tabs, buttons, and drop-down menus. Users need to take a deep breath and resign themselves to clicking … Read more

As Bill Gates prepares to walk away from Microsoft, both the man and the company he founded will face challenges getting along without each other, according to the new issue of Newsweek magazine.

Gates, who is stepping down from his full-time role at Microsoft this week to focus on his $37 billion charitable foundation, is the subject of an article that profiles Microsoft's successes and failures during his tenure, as well as the difficult transition the company and its founder will likely face. (CNET News.com plans to publish its own retrospective on Gates' departure, but in the meantime, … Read more

Apple faces a new lawsuit filed by shareholders angry over its stock option backdating practices.

Several shareholder suits have already been filed, but the latest one comes from the Boston Retirement Board, according to Andrews Publications over at Findlaw. This group claims to have "confidential information" regarding Apple's stock option backdating obtained through an inquiry via the Santa Clara County Superior Court, according to the article. However, it says it can't publish that information until a judge rules on how to treat the sensitive documents.

Apple acknowledged in late 2006 after an internal investigation that certain … Read more

Meg Whitman, chief executive of auction giant eBay, is planning to retire, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Whitman, 51, recently has been entrusting more of the day-to-day responsibilities to others and "is completing her succession planning, say people familiar with the matter," The Journal said. She has held the top post since 1998.

According to the newspaper's sources, the decision about her retirement could happen within a matter of weeks, but "the situation remains fluid." The report named John Donahoe, president of eBay's auction business unit, as the most likely … Read more

A friend once told me there are two reasons why people don't retire, and both are tragic: they either want to retire but can't, or they have no other interests but their work.

In July, Bill Gates will cease to be a full-time Microsoft employee. While he will remain the software giant's chairman, philanthropy will be the world's most famous geek's new full-time job.

With super-rich high-tech executives like Dell, Ellison, and Jobs still gainfully employed, who pegged Gates to opt out on the "other interests" clause? Not me; I thought he'd work at Microsoft until he keeled over. And philanthropy? That was doubly unexpected.… Read more

Baby boomers may have retired their love beads decades ago, but changing the world heavily motivates their buying decisions, according to a poll by AARP Services and Focalyst research.

Seventy percent of people born before 1964 told pollsters they felt a duty to improve the world. "Socially conscious" shopping goals drive 54 percent of older Americans in the survey, which identified 40 million consumers as "green boomers."

Conventional wisdom may have it that only "eco elites" regularly buy green products. However, the least wealthy people surveyed were more likely to buy products for reasons … Read more

AT&T CEO Edward Whitacre has announced his retirement after 43 years at the company. The retirement will be effective on June 3, according to a brief statement provided to CNET News.com by AT&T spokesman Michael Coe.

Whitacre will be replaced by Randall Stephenson, who currently serves as the company's chief operating officer.