Abstract
ABSTRACT How do different people imagine their own retirement? In this article, we use a representative survey from 2019 to investigate whether female and male senior workers in Norway differ in the ways they anticipate their lives as retirees, and whether covariates of various images differ across gender. We find that women are more likely than men to anticipate spending time on family-related activities, on hobbies and volunteering and on traveling, but less likely to plan for bridge employment and worry about empty time. Health and income are key determinants in men’s images, while partners and children are important for women.
Highlights
Retirement has become a major phase of life for most people in industrialized countries
How different people approach this final phase of life – a phase that will in some cases stretch over 30 years – can be important for their quality of life as retirees, and potentially affect their retirement decisions (Moffatt & Heaven, 2017; Noone et al, 2010)
The aim of this article is to supplement this qualitative research with evidence from a survey, carried out in Norway in late 2019. 3,097 individuals aged 30–61, all living in Norway, answered a set of questions about their perceptions of the current pension system, trust in the system, plans for retirement and anticipation of life as retirees
Summary
Retirement has become a major phase of life for most people in industrialized countries. Retirement is welcome, as it opens new possibilities to fully manage their own time and pursue new life projects, free from the time constraints and responsibilities that are associated with paid work. Retirement implies leaving all the rewards associated with work and coming home to long stretches of time filled with nothing (Grødem & Kitterød, 2021; Karp, 1989; Kojola & Moen, 2016; Vickerstaff, 2006). How different people approach this final phase of life – a phase that will in some cases stretch over 30 years – can be important for their quality of life as retirees, and potentially affect their retirement decisions (Moffatt & Heaven, 2017; Noone et al, 2010). Understanding better how older workers imagine retirement, and how this varies by gender and class, will help us to better understand the social meaning of retirement in a historical period where this social institution is in flux (Kojola & Moen, 2016; Sargent et al, 2013)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
