Retirement transition

Final report: Retirement processes and outcomes of individuals who retire to give care

by Áine Humble

Humble, A. M. (2009, August). Final report: Retirement processes and outcomes of individuals who retire to give care. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from http://www.msvu.ca/site/media/msvu/care-retire-final-report.pdf

Caregiving responsibilities can lead to early, often involuntary, retirement, but the connection between the two... more Caregiving responsibilities can lead to early, often involuntary, retirement, but the connection between the two events is seldom studied. This mixed method study, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, used the concept of “retirement congruency”, which takes into account greater variation in retirement decisions (low, moderate, or high retirement congruency), to explore retired caregivers’ experiences.

In the first stage of the study, descriptive analyses and multinomial logistic regression were carried out on a sample of retired caregivers (n = 569) from the 2002 General Social Survey. Women were more likely to retire for caregiving reasons than men and that male caregivers were more likely than female caregivers to report low retirement congruency. Moderate retirement congruency was the most common type of retirement congruency for caregivers who retired because of their caregiving role. Five variables predicted low retirement congruency, compared to moderate retirement congruency, and seven variables predicted low retirement congruency, compared to high retirement congruency. Three variables distinguished between moderate and high retirement congruency. Health and job problems were significant in all comparisons. Consistent with the descriptive results, retiring to give care predicted moderate retirement congruency compared to high retirement congruency, indicating that many employed caregivers say they chose to retire early because of their caregiving role yet still indicated a desire/need to have remained employed.

In stage two, 44 Nova Scotian caregivers (30 women and 14 men who retired to give care to an adult in the previous six years) were interviewed. Caregiving and retirement intersected in different ways. There were four pathways to becoming a retired caregiver: sudden, coincidental, gradual, and breaking. Different types of “tipping points” were more present in certain groups versus others. Moderate retirement congruency, again, was common, yet retirement congruency did not seem related to any of the four pathways to retirement. Individuals were negotiating their identities, both as caregivers and as retirees, regardless of their pathways or length of time retired. Very few individuals indicated being satisfied with their retirement experiences.

Analyses from the qualitative interviews demonstrate the complexity of caregivers’ retirement decisions and also point to limitations of survey research. Implications for caregiver policy and retirement policy are discussed, distinguishing between policies for employed caregivers and policies for caregivers who have to leave the paid labour force.

The next stage: Retirement planning for older adults with developmental disabilities: Needs assessment report

by Áine Humble

Butler, S., MacLellan, M., & Humble, A. M. (2006, November). The next stage: Retirement planning for older adults with developmental disabilities: Needs assessment report. Retrieved February 28, 2011, from Atlantic Research Centre for Family-Work Issues webpage: http://www.msvu.ca/site/media/msvu/The_Next_Stage_ Needs_Assessment_Report.pdf (78 pages)

Caregivers’ retirement congruency: A case for caregiver support

by Áine Humble

Humble, A. M., Keefe, J. M., & Auton, G. M. (2012). Caregivers’ retirement congruency: A case for caregiver support. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 74(2), 113-142. doi:10.2190/AG.74.2.b

Using the concept of retirement congruency (RC), which takes into account greater variation in retirement decisions... more Using the concept of retirement congruency (RC), which takes into account greater variation in retirement decisions (low, moderate, or high RC) than a dichotomous conceptualization (forced versus chosen), multinomial logistic regression was conducted on a sample of caregivers from the 2002 Canadian General Social Survey who were retired from employment (n = 700). Different variables increased the risk of having low and moderate RC, when both were compared to high RC. Factors predicting low RC (versus moderate RC), were similar but not identical to those predicting low RC (versus high RC). Retiring for health reasons and job problems were significant in all three comparisons. Retiring to give care only increased the probability of having moderate RC, compared to high RC, indicating that many employed caregivers who voluntarily retired because of caregiving responsibilities still expressed a desire to have remained in the labor force. Results raise questions about which policy domain—income security or labor—is most appropriate within this context.

“I’m too old to work but too young to retire”: involuntary job loss in middle age men

by Rita Borges Neves

Rita Borges Neves, Alice Delerue Matos Oral presentation at the European Sociological Association Conference 2011

Psychosocial determinants of financial planning for retirement among immigrants in Europe

by Juan Antonio Moriano León

Gabriela Topa, Juan A. Moriano and Ana Moreno
Journal of Economic Psychology
Volume 33, Issue 3, June 2012, Pages 527–537

The aim of this paper is twofold. First, to extend Hodges’ model of relationships between financial planning for... more The aim of this paper is twofold. First, to extend Hodges’ model of relationships between financial planning for retirement with psychosocial variables to predict both objective and subjective measures of financial planning. Second, to apply that model to a representative sample of immigrants in Europe provided by the first wave of SHARE study. Data from 1272 immigrants in Europe were obtained through structured interviews and questionnaires. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analyses reveal that the total expected amount of pension was predicted by poor health, migration seniority, and job demands, among other variables. Total years of pension contribution were predicted by salary, job tenure, and migration seniority. These results validate and expand the previous research on bridge employment activities and partial retirement.

Independent living in later life

by Jane Parry

Jane Parry, Sandra Vegeris, Maria Hudson, Helen Barnes and
Rebecca Taylor (2004) 'Independent Living in Later Life', Research Report no. 216, Department for Work & Pensions: HMSO.

This report brings together findings from qualitative research undertaken by the Policy Studies Institute (PSI) during... more This report brings together findings from qualitative research undertaken by the Policy Studies Institute (PSI) during 2003/04 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This
explored factors influencing perceptions and experiences of independent living in later life and analysed pensioners’ service needs and accessing behaviour, in turn considering the relationship between independence and service use. These issues are timely given the projected rise in the proportion of the UK’s population which is over State Pension age in the near future. The research was also designed to provide refinement of the DWP’s Customer Segmentation Model for Today’s Pensioners, a tool depicting a sliding scale of support needs, differentiating pensioners into seven subsegments on the basis of key demographic criteria.

Orientation, opportunity and autonomy: why people work after state pension age in three areas of England

by Jane Parry

Co-authored with Rebecca F. Taylor (2007), Ageing and Society, 27 (4): 579-598.

With the central players in the United Kingdom policy debate on pensions schemes and funding advocating an extension... more With the central players in the United Kingdom policy debate on pensions schemes and funding advocating an extension to the average working life (or, more precisely, a rise in the age of ceasing work), this paper reports the findings of qualitative interviews with men and women at or approaching state pension age that examined what motivated some people to continue to work after that age. By exploring their work histories and orientations to work, the paper shows that people from different social and occupational backgrounds not only conceive work and retirement in different ways but also have contrasting opportunities to continue in occupations after retirement age. Their attitudes and the opportunities they encounter shape the decisions they make at state pension age. Distinctions are drawn between those who articulated an identity as a ‘worker’ and those who defined themselves as ‘professionals and creatives’, and within those categories, between the employed and self-employed. The paper elucidates the tensions between individuals' normative expectations of retirement, their desire for autonomy and flexibility in later life, and the financial and occupational reality of life after state pension age. We argue that understanding the different cultural meanings of work and retirement for different types of worker has implications for the design and implementation of policies to extend working life.

Renegotiating identity and relationships: men and women's adjustments to retirement

by Jane Parry

Co-authored with Helen Barnes, Ageing and Society, 24 (2): 213-233.

Retirement is frequently a period of change, when the roles and relationships associated with individuals' previous... more Retirement is frequently a period of change, when the roles and relationships associated with individuals' previous labour market positions are transformed. It is also a time when personal relationships, including the marital relationship and relationships with friends and family, come under increased scrutiny and may be realigned. Many studies of adjustment to retirement focus primarily on individual motivation; by contrast, this paper seeks to examine the structure of resources within which such decisions are framed. The paper examines the contribution that gender roles and identities make to the overall configuration of resources available to particular individuals. It draws upon qualitative research conducted with older people in four contrasting parts of the United Kingdom, and examines the combination of labour market and non-labour-market activities in which they are involved prior to state retirement age and as they withdraw from paid work. It explores how older people invoke various gendered identities to negotiate change and continuity during this time. The paper argues that gender roles and identities are central to this process and that the reflexive deployment of gender may rank alongside financial resources and social capital in its importance to the achievement of satisfying retirement transitions. Amongst those interviewed, traditional gendered roles predominated, and these sat less comfortably with retirement for men than for women.

Patterns of retirement transitions in Germany and the U.S. are changing

by Juliane Hardt

Hardt J (2006). Alterübergangsformen in Deutschland und den U.S.A. im Wandel. In: S. Mühlpfordt & P. Richter (Hrsg.), Ehrenamt und Erwerbsarbeit. München, Mering: Rainer Hampp Verlag, 134-142.

Psychological aspects of retirement transitions. Investigation of salutogenetic ressources for the third age in a part-time retirement sample

by Juliane Hardt

Hardt J (2004). Psychologische Aspekte von Altersübergängen. Untersuchung von salutogenetischen Ressourcen für den Dritten Lebensabschnitt an einer Altersteilzeit-Stichprobe. Technische Universität Dresden: Unveröff. Diplomarbeit.

The Personal, Practical and Policy Implications of Older Australians' Residential Choice: Impact of Retirement Village vs. Community Living on Family and Formal …

by Evonne Miller

Retirement and Wealth Relationships: Meta-analysis and SEM

by Juan Antonio Moriano León

Gabriela Topa, Juan A. Moriano, Marco Depolo, Carlos-María Alcover, and Ana Moreno.

Research on Aging September 2011 33: 501-528, first published on July 18, 2011 doi:10.1177/0164027511410549

Meta-analytic procedures were used to examine relationships between objective income (OI), perceived adequacy of... more Meta-analytic procedures were used to examine relationships between objective income (OI), perceived adequacy of income, and retirement and their consequences. The authors’ review of the literature generated 90 independent samples obtained from 71 primary studies with 115,129 participants, which provided 136 independent effect sizes (ESs). A high effect size (r = .37) was found for the subjective income–retirement planning relation and a medium ES (r = .29) for the OI–retirement planning relation. Regarding retirement consequences, both objective and subjective incomes were positively related to retirement adjustment indicators, with low ES for OI–life satisfaction, OI–retirement income satisfaction, and retirement satisfaction. Structural equation analysis using the pooled correlation matrix allowed testing a more complex model. Potential moderator variables were examined, and it was found that they explained only a small percentage of variability of primary studies. Results and theoretical and empirical implications are discussed.

Salida del mercado de trabajo y estratificación social. Los determinantes de la edad de jubilación en España

by Jonas Radl

El probable retraso de la edad legal de jubilación en España, de 65 a 67 años, plantea diferentes cuestiones, entre... more El probable retraso de la edad legal de jubilación en España, de 65 a 67 años, plantea diferentes cuestiones, entre las cuales cabe destacar la de cómo afectará semejante cambio a los diferentes grupos de empleados y asalariados. El análisis que se presenta en este artículo pone de manifiesto la existencia de grupos con diferentes grados de vulnerabilidad ante una reforma consistente en alargar el periodo de la vida laboral. Los profesionales, y en particular los que cuentan con niveles de cualificación más elevados (la ‘clase de servicio alta’), se verá previsiblemente menos afectada por el retraso de la edad de jubilación, tanto porque afronta un menor riesgo de expulsión del mercado de trabajo, como porque encuentra en el sistema de pensiones incentivos para alargar su carrera de cotización.

Individuelle Determinanten des Renteneintrittsalters

by Jonas Radl

Wirtschaft und Statistik, 5/2007, 511–520.

Individuelle Determinanten des Renteneintrittsalters – Eine empirische Analyse von Übergängen in den Ruhestand

by Jonas Radl

Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 36/2007, 43–64.

Social connectedness and the transition from work to retirement. A panel study.

by Jonas Radl

Co-authored with Bram Lancee.

Paper presented at the RC28 spring meeting,
Essex University, April 13-16th 2011.

Objectives. While there are numerous studies on the role of social capital in early working life, there is virtually... more Objectives. While there are numerous studies on the role of social capital in early working life, there is virtually no research that examines how social connections matter at later stages of the career. The present study analyses to what extend social connectedness affects the transition from work to retirement.

Methods. We draw on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (GSOEP) from the years 1985-2009 and apply techniques of event history analysis. Social connectedness includes meeting with, friends, familyand neighbors, as well as being engaged in voluntary associations and local politics.

Results. The presented findingsdemonstrate that social connectedness matters for the transition from work to retirement.Whereas intensive contact with family and friends results in earlier retirement, civic engagementdelays labor force withdrawal.

Discussion. There is no univocal effect of social connectedness. Rather, the provided evidence indicates that the relationship between informal social participation and work in later life is characterized by substitution, but formal participation is complementary to labor market participation:while connections in private life speed up exit from work, civic and voluntary participationis associated with postponed retirement.