Retirement Adjustment Research Articles

Changes in Life Satisfaction in the Retirement Transition: Interaction Effects of Transition Type and Individual Resources

The impact of retirement on well-being varies between individuals, but also within individuals over time. Type of transition and individual differences in resource capability are two factors likely to influence the retirement adjustment process, but we still lack in our understanding of the importance of these factors in relation to each other. 'I he aim of this study was to investigate interaction effects of transition type and individual resources on changes in life satisfaction in the retirement transition. We studied changes in life satisfaction over 1 year in a sample of 3,471 older adults from the population-based HEalth, Ageing, and Retirement Transitions in Sweden (HEARTS) study. The sample included participants retiring gradually (n = 360) or fully (n = 346) between the two measurement points as well those continuously working (n = 1,860) or retired (n = 905) in both waves. Resources evaluated for their role in the transition included baseline measures of self-esteem, autonomy, social support, self-rated physical health, self-rated cognitive ability, and basic financial assets. Results from multiple group latent change score models showed that retirement transition type and individual differences in resource capability variously influenced changes in life satisfaction. The six resources accounted for a larger proportion of individual differences in change among those who retired between the two waves (21.2%) than in those whose retirement status remained unchanged (12.6%). In addition, a larger proportion of variability in changes in life satisfaction were explained in abrupt (31.4%) than in gradual (11.7%) retirement.

Reconciling Identity Contradiction when Transitioning from Work to Retirement: A Theoretical Model

In an aging society, dealing with the absence of an occupational identity and the quality of retirement adjustment become major concerns for individuals, organizations, and governments. However, the processes through which retirement adjustment can be achieved and upon which conditions this depends are only partially understood. We propose that identity transition contradiction and the number of high quality exchange relationships represent key factors in explaining the diversity in retirement adjustment quality. Integrating identity and social relational perspectives, we develop and elaborate ten propositions to introduce a theoretical model that addresses the process of identity contradiction reconciliation during the work-to-retirement transition. We also discuss the potential boundary conditions of the model, outline directions for future research, and suggest practical implications for management and career counseling.

On the quality of adjustment to retirement: The longitudinal role of personality traits and generativity.

Although psychological factors have been explored in relation to other life transitions, their influence on retirement adjustment quality has been largely overlooked. This study assessed the contribution of personality traits and generativity before retirement in the prediction of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being at two temporal points after retirement. This article analyzes data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) longitudinal sample. Specifically, it uses a subsample of people who were not retired at Time 1, but were 9 years after at Time 2 (n = 548) and 18 years after at Time 3 (n = 351). After controlling both for initial values on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being and for the effects of personal attributes and resources, higher scores on Extraversion at Time 1 significantly predicted hedonic well-being at Time 2, whereas lower scores on Neuroticism and higher scores on generativity at Time 1 significantly predicted eudaimonic well-being at Time 2. Neuroticism and generative concern at Time 1 remained significant in the prediction of eudaimonic well-being at Time 3. The study shows that personality traits and generative concern at midlife explain a meaningful part of the variation in individuals' quality of subsequent retirement adjustment.

IS IT DIFFICULT TO ADJUST FOR EVERYONE? EXPLAINING RETIREMENT ADJUSTMENT WITH LIFE COURSE DATA

AbstractAdjustment to retirement is crucial for successful ageing. However, not everybody has the same chance to adapt well. Following a life course approach, different facets may predict the success, in particular previous life experiences, timing of retirement, interdependence with others, and access to resources. Using data of the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) allows us to use a broad range of life course characteristics for predicting whether or not a retiree reports difficulties in adjustment. Preliminary results show that about 30 percent of retirees age 60 to 75 reported difficulties in adjusting. While timing, disrupted employment biographies and access to resources showed high prevalences, early child adversity and having other people around did not predict difficulties. Different effects were found by gender and education, while effects differed only marginal by period. We discuss these findings in respect to other findings in retirement adjustment.

Older Workers’ Emotional Reactions to Rising Retirement Age: The Case of the Netherlands

All over the world the retirement landscape is changing. Probably one of the bigger and more fundamental changes is the rise in the pension eligibility age. The fact that these reforms came quickly after the closing of early retirement opportunities urged the pre-pension cohorts to adjust their retirement outlooks. This research studied older workers’ emotional reactions to reforms that induce them to extend their working lives with a number of years. Using data from a large scale sample survey among 6,800 older workers in the Netherlands, aged 60–65 at time of interview in 2015, we examined why the pension reforms trigger stronger emotional reactions in some individuals than in others. We integrated theoretical insights from the theory of emotion and the resource-based perspective on retirement adjustment. Testing our hypotheses revealed that emotions are stronger among individuals that have less access to resources. Anger and worry is more prevalent among older workers in more demanding jobs, with less favorable personal (health, wealth) and social resources (no partner support). This research suggests that policy makers—mostly higher level professionals who are much less exposed to the challenges of working longer—have underestimated the psychological and social impact of the reforms on vulnerable groups of older workers and, in particular, less educated older workers with lower social status. With a further increase of retirement age to be expected, policy makers are challenged to design policies that spare vulnerable groups in particular, for example, by facilitating more flexibility in the retirement transition.

HUBUNGAN DUKUNGAN SOSIAL DAN PENYESUAIAN DIRI PADA MASA PENSIUN PEJABAT STRUKTURAL DI PEMERINTAHAN PROVINSI BALI

Personal adjustment is an important factor for retirees. Adjustment is kind of behavior that aims to respond the individual needs. The purpose of personal adjustment is to obtain well becoming between personal demand and the environment where the individual lives. In order to get better personal adjustment in retirement, it really needs social support. Social support refers to provide comfort, taking care and appreciating. The structural officer is identical with adequate service facility, the presence of assistants, the relations and high income, which is cause the relationship between social support and personal adjustment in retirement is highly visible on the structural officer of Civil Servants (PNS) in Bali Province Government who has retired already. This research aims to determine the relationship between social support and personal adjustment in the retirement of structural officer. The subject of this research is structural officer who has retired already and worked in Bali Province, age range is 57-58 years old. Total subjects in this study is 105 persons. Reliability of social support scale is 0.910 and the reliability of retirement personal adjustment scale is 0.894. Normality of social support is 0.200 and normality of personal adjustment in retirement variable is 0.052. Linearity test is 0.000. Analysis methods in this research is pearson product moment correlation . The result of correlation test is 0.717(p=0.000). Based on the result, it shows that there is relationship between social support and personal adjustment in the sstructural civil servants of government in Bali Province. Its mean the higher the sosial support, the higher the adjustment to retirement.Keywords: social support, personal adjustment, retirement

Blended Work: Further Connecting to the Broader Bridge Employment Literature

[Dropkin, Moline, Kim, and Gold (2016)][1] discuss blended work among older adults in the context of workforce aging and labor shortages. In the current article, I further the discussion of blended work by connecting this concept to the broader literature of bridge employment and providing related theoretical background to explain the impacts of blended work on older workers and retirees. First, I provide an overview of the conceptualizations of bridge employment and consider blended work as both a retirement adjustment process and a job design characteristic. I then review the major theoretical perspectives that can be applied to explain the benefits of blended work for older employees and retirees. Following the review, I highlight the importance of examining both well-being and performance outcomes of blended work, as well as examining the boundary conditions of the effects of blended work in future research. [1]: #ref-15

Factors affecting adjustment to retirement among retirees’ elderly persons

Background and aim : The loss of work through retirement is one of the major adjustments for individual ages. For many, this is the first indicator of the impact of aging. Aim of the study was to identify factors affecting adjustment to retirement among retirees' elderly persons. Method : Cross-sectional descriptive design was adopted. This study was conducted at Waiting Lounge of El Ahly Bank, Nasser Bank, and Faculties of Commerce, Medicine, Science and Veterinary affiliated to Mansoura University, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. 210 retirees' elderly person who represented the participants of the current study retired since one year and more. Data was collected using Self-Administered Questionnaire, Retirement Adjustment Scale, and Retirement Resources Inventory. Results: None of the retirees' elderly (100.0%) attended a preparation program for retirement. The total mean score of retirement adjustment scale correlated significantly and positively to the total mean score of the physical, financial, social, and mental resources. Additionally, there is a significant relation between preparation for retirement and the total mean score of retirement adjustment scale. Conclusion: It can be concluded that adjustment to retirement was affected by the retirees’ gender, marital status, level of education, type of job before retirement, job condition, and place of work. In addition, adequate resources as physical, financial, social support and mental capacity are associated with better adjustment to retirement.

Retirement Adjustment Predictors—A Systematic Review

Human beings are living longer than ever. Among other consequences, this demographic trend increased retirement duration, what makes important to understand what factors contribute to a better life in retirement. In order to explore these factors and add to previous investigations, this study aimed to perform a systematic literature review concerning adjustment to retirement. For that, a total of 11 descriptors were surveyed in 7 electronic databases seeking empirical studies addressing retirees, published between 1995 and 2014, and written either in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. A total of 3,255 records were identified, and resulted in a final sample of 115 articles after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. The adjustment predictors were classified into 26 categories. Factors with larger empirical evidence on the benefits to adjustment are: physical health, finances, psychological health and personality-related attributes, leisure, voluntary retirement, and social integration. It is expected that these results allow comparing different predictors, fostering research on scarcely studied but promising predictors, and informing the development of retirement interventions.

The role of mattering as an overlooked key challenge in retirement planning and adjustment

In an aging society, making a successful transition from work to retirement and achieving good quality of retirement adjustment become major concerns for individuals, organizations, and governments. This paper focuses on the particular role of mattering (i.e., individuals' perceptions that they make a difference in the world) as a critical self-concept dimension that may mediate the impact of social interactions on retirement process at two distinct phases. We conducted two studies using time lagged design (with one-year time interval) among older workers 55years or older (N=161; Study 1) and retirees (N=186; Study 2). Study 1 found that mattering mediated the effects of social support at work on life satisfaction but not retirement planning. Study 2 found that mattering mediated the effects of general social support on positive affect but not life satisfaction. Contrary to our expectation, mattering also did not mediate effects of caregiving activities. Overall, our results suggest that mattering represents a critical mechanism that explains some of the positive associations between social support and retirement adjustment quality.

Life after Medicine: A Systematic Review of Studies of Physicians’ Adjustment to Retirement

Background: A physician's decision to retire has personal and social consequences. While there has been growing interest in how individuals adjust to retirement, less is known about physicians' adjustment to retirement. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed by searching Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, Ageline, Embase, Health star, ASSA, and PsycINFO databases for peer- reviewed studies published with quantitative and/or qualitative analyses of physicians' adjustment to, satisfaction with, and/or quality of life in retirement. Two independent reviewers performed data abstraction, a quality assessment and an additional reviewer resolved inconsistencies. Content analysis was used to identify and stratify information from selected studies into themes and subthemes. Results: Based on analyses of 12 articles that met the eligibility criteria, it is evident that retirement from medicine was seen as a generally favorable phenomenon. Financial security, favorable health, engagement in activities, and psychosocial well-being were identified as key factors relevant to physician retirement adjustment. Findings suggest that physicians' retirement transitions could be eased by a greater focus on financial planning, implementation of strategies to encourage the development of outside interests, and institutional retirement planning that honors the physician and takes place mid-career or well in advance of retirement.

Achieving Meaningful Retirement Adjustment in Late Career

In an ageing society, achieving good quality of retirement adjustment has become a major challenge for individuals, organizations, and governments. Adopting a retrospective view, this paper explore...

Psychosocial factors in retirement intentions and adjustment: a multi-sample study

Purpose– Retirement adjustment is the process by which aged workers become accustomed to the changed facts of life in the transition from work to retirement and develop psychological well-being in their post-working life. The purpose of this paper is to explore the psychosocial factors that significantly explain retirement intentions and retirement adjustment, using two separate empirical studies.Design/methodology/approach– Retirement self-efficacy, low work involvement, older worker identity and relative deprivation significantly explained retirement intentions (bridge employment engagement, part-time retirement, late retirement and full retirement) of workers over 60 years (Study 1,n=157). Retirement adjustment indices (retirement satisfaction, feelings of anxiety and depression) were associated with psychosocial factors for retirees (Study 2,n=218).Findings– The findings highlight that retirement self-efficacy and older worker identity positively and significantly explained both full retirement of aged workers and retirement satisfaction of retirees. Relative deprivation negatively significantly explained partial and late retirement intentions and retirement satisfaction of retirees.Research limitations/implications– The implications of these studies are discussed for understanding retirement planning and counselling practice.Practical implications– Retirement adjustment conceptualized as a process has important implications for retirement planning, and consequently can influence the project of the life course, as well as career’s decisions.Social implications– Social contexts should consider all factors that can negatively affect self-efficacy, work involvement and identity of employees in the mid and late-career stages, and thus contribute to reinforce and strengthen personal and psychosocial resources involved in planning and adaptation to retirement, and to increase the insight into the planning and decisions older workers make to face retirement.Originality/value– This work had two goals, pursued by two empirical studies with two samples: workers over 60 years, and retirees. The authors contend that the availability of two different sets of data increases the generalizability of the findings.

Active and Adjusted: Investigating the Contribution of Leisure, Health and Psychosocial Factors to Retirement Adjustment

Engagement in leisure activities during retirement and its relationship to retirement adjustment were investigated. Psychosocial mediators included mastery, self-efficacy for retirement (SE-R) and activities (SE-A), positive (PA) and negative affect (NA). Resources investigated included physical health and finances. Leisure activities examined were social, home entertainment, chores, light exercise, vigorous exercise, and education. Data were gathered from a sample consisting of 243 retirees. Direct predictors of retirement adjustment included finances, health, mastery, SE-R and SE-A. Social activities were the best predictor of a wide range of positive outcomes, including PA, mastery, SE-R and SE-A. Educational activities improved SE-R. Being involved in a broader range of activities was associated with PA, mastery and SE-A. Familiarity and enjoyment of activities were implicated in the maintenance and continuation of activities at post-retirement. Research findings have implications for aged-care and other retirement service providers, as well as for individuals.

The Interaction Between Older Workers' Personal Resources and Perceived Age Discrimination Affects the Desired Retirement Age and the Expected Adjustment

The purpose of this study was to address a gap in the literature by examining how perceived age discrimination interacts with older workers’ personal resources, affecting 2 retirement-related outcomes, desired retirement age and expected adjustment. Based on the resource-based dynamic model for retirement adjustment, the present study showed that older workers that still have access to personal resources (i.e., efficacy, creativity, responsibility, competencies, learning ability, motivation, flexibility and adaptability, interest in development) desire to work longer and expect to successfully adjust to retirement, when discrimination against older employees in the workplace is perceived to be lower. The results were discussed in terms of the resource perspective and implications for organizational practices.

Transition into Retirement Affects Life Satisfaction: Short- and Long-Term Development Depends on Last Labor Market Status and Education

The effect of retirement on life satisfaction is a research topic that received a lot of attention, yet provided heterogeneous results. The current study suggests a remedy for this situation by taking two predictors of diversity (i.e. education and last labor market status) into account. We assumed that changes in social status and changes in resources influence retirement adjustment. The social status change affects retirees in the short-term, whereas individuals’ resources indicated by education predict long-term adjustment. To disentangle these processes, we contrasted exits from full-time employment and transitions from unemployment. We used data from the German Socio-Economic Panel to estimate a multi-group, multi-episodes dual change score model. The development of life satisfaction is lastingly interrupted by retirement. A short-term increase in life satisfaction was found for both transition groups but was more pronounced for those being previously unemployed. Life satisfaction develops in the long-term education-specific: retirees who have more education show almost constant life satisfaction whereas those retirees who have less education experience a decline. The results indicate that retirement entails a major change in the way people live. Adjustment to this can be characterized by two processes: A status change enfolds in the short-term. A building of new daily routines using individuals’ resources develops in the long-term. Both processes can be interpreted in terms of cumulative inequality: last labor market status differences decrease in the short-term but remain. Educational differences increase after retirement.

To Matter or not Matter? An Overlooked Key Challenge for Transition to Retirement

In an ageing society, making a successful transition from work to retirement and the quality of retirement adjustment become major concerns for individuals, organizations, and governments. This pap...

Understanding heterogeneity in adaptation to retirement: a growth mixture modeling approach.

Previous research has shown that as people transition to retirement they display heterogeneous growth in outcomes. Typically three subgroups are observed, in which people either increase, decrease, or maintain their scores over time. Extending this research, this study investigates whether subgroups exist independent of the retirement event and compares growth in two outcome measures--retirement adjustment and life satisfaction. Survey data were collected from 360 retirees across three time points. For life satisfaction, growth mixture modeling identified three distinctly growing subgroups. The majority maintained their scores over time, and two smaller groups showed increases and decreases in life satisfaction over time. No subgroups were identified for retirement adjustment. Implications of these results are discussed and suggestions are made for future research.

Corrigendum

Due to a material mistake, the article ‘Bridge employment quality and its impact on retirement adjustment: A structural equation model with SHARE panel data’ (Vol. 35, No. 2, May 2014, pp. 224–243) has been published without a correct and complete reference to the source of the database. The authors sincerely apologise for this. The readers are kindly invited to consider that our data came from SHARE wave 4 release 1.1.1. ‘This article uses data from SHARE wave 4 release 1.1.1, as of 28 March 2013 (DOI: 10.6103/SHARE.w4.111) or SHARE wave 1 and 2 release 2.6.0, as of 29 November 2013 (DOI: 10.6103/SHARE.w1.260 and 10.6103/SHARE.w2.260) or SHARELIFE release 1, as of 24 November 2010 (DOI: 10.6103/SHARE.w3.100). The SHARE data collection has been primarily funded by the European Commission through the 5th Framework Programme (project QLK6-CT-2001-00360 in the thematic programme Quality of Life), through the 6th Framework Programme (projects SHARE-I3, RII-CT-2006-062193, COMPARE, CIT5- CT-2005-028857, and SHARELIFE, CIT4-CT-2006-028812) and through the 7th Framework Programme (SHARE-PREP, No. 211909, SHARE-LEAP, No. 227822 and SHARE M4, No. 261982). Additional funding from the US National Institute on Aging (U01 AG09740-13S2, P01 AG005842, P01 AG08291, P30 AG12815, R21 AG025169, Y1-AG-4553-01, IAG BSR06-11 and OGHA 04-064) and the German Ministry of Education and Research as well as from various national sources is gratefully acknowledged (see www.share-project.org for a full list of funding institutions).’

An Exploration of Factors affecting the Marital Relationship, Psychological Health, and Retirement Adjustment of Retired Couples: A Short-term Longitudinal Study

An Exploration of Factors affecting the Marital Relationship, Psychological Health, and Retirement Adjustment of Retired Couples: A Short-term Longitudinal Study