This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ekerdt, D. J. Articles by Deviney, S. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

The Normative Anticipation of Retirement by Older Workers

University of Kansas, dekerdt{at}ukans.edu

Karl Kosloski

University of Nebraska at Omaha

Stanley Deviney

University of Maryland Eastern Shore

The scope of explanation for retirement behavior could be greatly enlarged by acknowledging workers’ extended engagement with the question before the event—its "givenness" in their future, and their course of action toward it. This study provides evidence for such extended involvement among workers aged 51 to 61 in the 1992 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) who saw themselves being within 15 years of retiring. To the extent that workers foresaw less time left at work, they reported more frequent thinking and talking about retirement. This pattern was quite general. The consideration given to retirement was, as expected, more frequent in circumstances that might orient workers toward the future. However, even absent these circumstances, subjective proximity still predicted the topicality of retirement. Widely held, albeit individual, timetables for retirement demonstrate its embeddedness in the subjective life course of older workers.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. van Solinge and K. Henkens Involuntary Retirement: The Role of Restrictive Circumstances, Timing, and Social Embeddedness J. Gerontol. B. Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci., September 1, 2007; 62(5): S295 - S303. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. M. Raymo and M. M. Sweeney Work-family conflict and retirement preferences. J. Gerontol. B. Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci., May 1, 2006; 61(3): S161 - S169. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. B. Smith Volunteering in Retirement: Perceptions of Midlife Workers Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, March 1, 2004; 33(1): 55 - 73. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T. S. Rocco, D. Stein, and C. Lee An Exploratory Examination of the Literature on Age and HRD Policy Development Human Resource Development Review, June 1, 2003; 2(2): 155 - 180. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. B. Williamson and T. K. McNamara Interrupted Trajectories and Labor Force Participation: The Effect of Unplanned Changes in Marital and Disability Status Research on Aging, March 1, 2003; 25(2): 87 - 121. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. A. Cotter, J. M. Hermsen, and R. Vanneman Gendered Opportunities for Work: Effects on Employment in Later Life Research on Aging, November 1, 2002; 24(6): 600 - 629. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. J. Ekerdt and J. K. Hackney Workers' Ignorance of Retirement Benefits Gerontologist, August 1, 2002; 42(4): 543 - 551. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Kosloski, D. Ekerdt, and S. DeViney The Role of Job-Related Rewards in Retirement Planning J. Gerontol. B. Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci., May 1, 2001; 56(3): P160 - P169. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]