Female Retirement Research Articles

Cross-national Patterns and Determinants of Female Retirement

Despite the importance of labor force status to the well-being of older women in developing and developed nations, retirement of females has not been studied cross-nationally. This article first presents hypotheses concerning the effects of (1) industrial development, (2) social security growth, (3) sex stratification, and (4) family structure and fertility on cross-national patterns of female retirement. It then argues that industrial development interacts with the variables specified by the other hypotheses in determining female retirement, Longitudinal, aggregate data for 93 nations in 1960, 1965, and 1970 are used to calculate rates of withdrawal of females from the labor force during old age and to test the arguments. The results show substantial female retirement that varies systematically with the economic and social characteristics of the nations studied. As predicted, the effects of pensions, family size, and sexual equality on female retirement increase with the level of industrial development. ...

Decision and Adaptation

Review of the literature shows that while women's adaptation to retirement has been closely studied, little is known of the female retirement decision. No gender differences in adaptation have been demonstrated. Hampered by poor data sets and design, and responsive to the prejudicial assumption that women had low work commitment, early adaptation studies found that women workers adjusted poorly to retirement, often more poorly than men. However, these results have not been confirmed. Recent research shows that most women adjust well, and no consistent gender differences have been found. Gender differences are much more likely to be observed in the decision to retire. Analysis of the timing of retirement among married couples indicates that the characteristics of the spouse influence individual retirement decisions. The effects of these characteristics differ in strength and direction, depending on gender. Future research on female retirement should focus on decision making in the marital unit.

Women and Retirement: The Effect of Multiple Careers on Retirement Adjustment

ABSTRACTFemale retirement has received very limited attention in the research literature. In this paper, the concept of career set is employed as the basis for a framework designed to analyse the impact of women's involvement in multiple careers on their adjustment to retirement. An extensive review of existing literature leads the author to conclude that the familial careers engaged in by married, working women have a mediative effect on their transition to retirement. In order to understand female retirement it is necessary to examine the interplay of multiple careers and their relative salience to women in the labour force.

Female Retirement: Effects on Spousal Roles and Marital Adjustment

PAST research on retirement has nearly exclusively centered on the adjustment problems of male retirees. This trend is particularly obvious in studies on the effects of retirement on the marital relationship. Data from a pilot study of 25 female retirees and their husbands indicate that female retirement can, indeed, influence a couple's marital satisfaction and task allocation patterns. The retirement of the wife does not always lead to a redistribution of household tasks, nor do all female retirees experience a full-time household role after retirement is entirely positive ways. Effects of the wife's retirement on the marital relationship are often described as positive: Many couples feel relieved from the stresses associated with their dual work and family obligations and enjoy their new togetherness and joint leisure time activities. Negative effects on the marital relationship can occur, however, if the wife experiences serious retirement adjustment problems or if the spouses feel irritated by each other's continuous presence at home.

Changing retirement patterns in New Zealand, 1976 and 1981

In New Zealand, as in many developed countries, the general trend this century has been towards earlier retirernent. This trend has accelerated since the 1960s. Between 1976 and 1981 the shift to earlier retirentent was characterised by an increase in retirement at the age of 60 and a decrease in retirement at the age of 65. Female retirement pattrrns became increasingly similar to male retirement patterns. The effect of the introduction of National Superannuation on retirement patten1s is a question which is addressed in this paper.