Running head: IMPACTS OF RETIREMENT 1

Late Adulthood: Impacts of Retirement

Student

University
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Impacts of Retirement

As adults transition into late adulthood, they also make a transition into retirement.

While some continue working productively through the early stages of late adulthood reporting

high job satisfaction, the majority of aging adults in this stage of life make the choice to stop

working between ages 65-70 (Gustman, & Steinmeier, 2004). Despite the desire and will to

work, most aging adults do not have the energy and physical ability to continue and eventually

accept a more leisurely pace in life. While many individuals retire healthy and financially well

off, others are pushed into retirement either through family pressures, health-related conditions,

or occupational consolidating. The personal impact of retirement may vary from individual to

individual and family to family and range from satisfied completion of life’s work to unsatisfied

reluctance with concerns for the future. Retirement also impacts current society, as baby

boomers make up the largest generation group today, with over 76 million individuals moving

into late adulthood and retirement (Pollard & Scommegna, 2014). This paper intends to present

the personal, familial, and societal impacts of retirement in late adulthood.

Personal Impact

The personal impact of retirement is complex and unique to each individual transitioning

into it. The first impacts of retirement are psychological, emotional, and physical. For the retiree,

the transition may be one of celebration or worry. Factors that determine the emotional response

to retiring are financial stability and planning, potential or continued hobbies to look forward to,

close relationships with family and friends, and health status (Beehr & Bennett, 2007).

Retirement planning relieves much of the burden for older adults as they have considered their

financial egg nest, the predictability of monthly income, sorted future concerns such as death,

and taken current or potential debt into consideration. Not having done so may create significant
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negative psychological results, especially anxiety. Another potential factor that may impact an

individual psychologically is that of the possible thought process of losing a sense of self-worth

or purpose as many people tie their worth and purpose in with their occupation or income

(Matour & Prout, 2007). Interpersonal relationships or lack thereof may increase an individual’s

well-being or lead to isolation and loneliness, having a detrimental impact on one’s psyche

(Dave, Rashad, & Spasojevic, 2006).

Familial Impact

While transitioning into retirement, a married aging adult will most often consult with

their spouse throughout the process of planning and journey of their partner. Though maintaining

familial relationships increases the overall experience within this stage of life, the choices, the

closeness of connections, and the ability to adjust for a partner or spouse profoundly impacts the

retirement stage through interdependence (Gustman & Steinmeier, 2004). Entering retirement

can be financially pressing. It may result in the retiree or retirees turning to their adult children

and other family members for assistance with 62% of aging adults being provided financial

support (Lynch & Wave, 2013). However, three in five retirees who are financially stable begin

passing assets to their adult relatives and other family members while still alive (Lynch & Wave,

2013). Retirement behavior may impact familial relationships negatively or positively depending

on the financial and health status of the individuals who are retired as decision processes, and

caregiving decision-making are key factors when considering responsibilities and obligations.

Societal Impact

One of the most significant societal concerns of retiring baby boomers is that of social

security costs to support the age group. With increasing life expectancy and improved healthcare

after retirement age (65), concerns over the depletion of social security benefits have been a
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critical political topic for the last few decades with a predicted depletion by 2035 if all current

trends remain the same (Lee & Skinner, 1999). Another concern is the need to fill gaps in the

workforce as over 75 million baby boomers are moving into retirement. However, with mortality

rates declining and aging adults continuing to work beyond the retirement age of 65, over 29% of

adults age 65-72 are maintaining their occupational positions while younger baby boomers (54-

64) made up 66% of the workforce in 2018 (Phillipson, 2019). Most employers have shifted

from pensions to 401(k)’s in offering retirement solutions for dedicated employees by scaling

back benefits in order to be more cost-effective, creating a revolving door effect with employees

who work for companies until they acquire skills and experience to build their resume and move

on to more lucrative opportunities as the incentives to remain employed with a company that

does not provide adequate retirement benefits is low to non-existent (Gustman & Steinmeier,

2004). Though there are other areas of society that may benefit from late adulthood retirees such

as volunteer work and retiree targeted employment (e.g., Walmart Greeters), the most significant

impact is that of the overall job market and the gaps in the workforce as well as those who push

retirement into later years, opting to continue working in late adulthood.

Conclusion

Retirement is a complex aspect of late adulthood that requires extensive planning and

forethought to be met with affirmative acceptance. Personal impacts include psychological,

physical, and other health factors that contribute to overall satisfaction or worry of retirement.

Family considerations, participation, and couple engagements also require attention and building

to promote positive assistance, health, company, and well-being of the retired individual. The

societal impacts are leaning toward a detrimental decline in younger generational satisfaction if

the current methods of corporate and federal benefits continue as they are, leaving national social
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security depleted by 2035. With baby boomers coming into retirement, there is the potential for

younger generations given the opportunities that were once positions of their older cohorts,

though there are a considerable number of aging adults remaining in their occupations due to

longer life expectancy, the need to further prepare for retirement, and better healthcare providing

older adults the dexterity to continue working.

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