Chapter 25 - Lifespan Perspectives on the Work-to-Retirement Transition

Abstract

The work-to-retirement transition is a critical stage of career and life development that the majority of the workforce will go through. Due to workforce aging and the increase of the proportion of population reaching retirement age, understanding the process of retirement has been drawing increasing attention from researchers, older workers, employers, and policy makers. In this chapter, we apply the lifespan perspectives to the work-to-retirement transition and focus on the interplay between lifespan development and changes during the work-to-retirement transition. Drawing on the person–environment fit framework, we theorize how lifespan development may lead to age-related changes in demands-abilities fit and needs-supplies fit between older individuals and their employment or retirement environment, and thus impact retirement planning, decision making, and adjustment. We also theorize how the person–environment fit framework can be applied to facilitate research on influences of the work-to-retirement transition on people’s post-retirement life development. We call for future research efforts adopting the lifespan perspective and the person–environment fit framework to advance the literature on the work-to-retirement transition.