‘It's a New Way of Life’: An Exploration of the Occupational Transition of Retirement

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to explore the work to retirement transition, from an occupational perspective. Participants' personal reports of experiences relating to the occupational transition of retirement, and its impact on health and wellbeing, were examined. Method: Eight participants who had recently retired were recruited purposively. They were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, focusing on the areas of previous employment, experience of the retirement transition, occupational balance and reflection on the impact on health and wellbeing. The research used interpretative phenomenological analysis to guide data collection and analysis. Findings and conclusion: Three superordinate themes emerged: the process of retirement; purpose, doing and wellbeing; and retirement as a new life stage. These themes suggested that the retirement transition was a period of significant readjustment and that there was a close relationship between participants' engagement in occupation and their perceived health and wellbeing.