Retirement Stats, Studies, and Stuff
By Mariella Vigneux, MBA, ACC
Certified Professional Coach
How well do people adjust to retirement? Do they manage the transition with ease and confidence? Are people happy after retiring? What are some of the variables that lead to an easy transition and a smooth adjustment?
We got answers to these questions way back in 2007. Two studies, from two different continents, were published, both showing very similar results. One study[1] looked at 2,060 U.S. retirees. The other study[2] examined 1,456 German retirees. Both studies concluded that people follow one of three patterns when adjusting to retirement.
What’s important about these results is that our psychological well-being depends on which pattern we follow. And which pattern we follow is based on variables in our lives before and after retiring, some of which we can influence for the better.
Taking a closer look at the U.S. study
The U.S. study gave the following names to the three patterns: Maintaining Pattern, U-Shaped Pattern, and Recovering Pattern.[3] Here is a description of each pattern, along with some of the life variables that make the transition either smooth or not so smooth.
As you read, please consider which pattern you will likely fall into (or have already experienced). Also, consider which variables you have some control over.
1. Maintaining Pattern
The majority of retirees (72%) adjusted well to retirement, maintaining their psychological well-being.
Retirement Experience
These retirees experienced little change in emotional well-being, continuing along in a satisfied state. They accommodated “considerable life changes by maintaining their familiar patterns of thought, behaviour, and relationship.” 1
Retirement was “a benign event with no severe impact on one’s emotional well-being.”1
Life Variables[4]
- Held a short-term job to bridge between full-employment and retirement
- Were actively engaged in retirement planning – able to clarify retirement goals relating to their finances, social well-being, and health – and therefore felt prepared for retirement
- Were married and had a spouse who was not working[5]
2. U-Shaped Pattern
About one in four retirees (24%) experienced a decline in psychological well-being, followed by a recovery.
Retirement Experience
These retirees experienced negative changes in psychological well-being during their retirement transition. However, as they adjusted to retirement life and accepted their limitations, they developed more emotional well-being.
Life Variables[6]
- Experienced objective health declines during the retirement transition
- Had an unhappy marriage
- Retired earlier than they expected
- Had fewer resources than anticipated and unrealistic expectations for their retirement
- Struggled with role loss and loss of identity (causing anxiety and depression)
- Had a difficult change in lifestyle
The study also suggests that individual differences and situations may determine how quickly the turning point to better psychological well-being is reached in this U-shaped pattern. Some of the differences mentioned are as follows:
- openness to change
- goal orientation in retirement
- the need for structure
- family support
- community cohesiveness
- unemployment rate in the local labour market
3. Recovering Pattern
A small percentage of retirees (4%) experienced a rise in psychological well-being (a rise from the depths!) as soon as they retired.
Retirement Experience
Retirement allowed these retirees to “escape from unpleasant work roles.”1 Retirement had “a positive effect on the retirees’ health, stress level and satisfaction,”1 leading to improved psychological well-being, in a pattern of increasing well-being.
Retirement was so much better than the employment they had!
Life Variables
- Retired from jobs that were highly stressful, highly physically demanding, or provided only low job satisfaction; or suffered the stigma and pressures of unemployment prior to retirement
Shortening your disorientation phase
For those who wonder how retirement will go for them (and for those who wonder how it is going for others), the good news is that most people weather transition into retirement very well. Seventy-two per cent of those in the U.S. study maintained a strong sense of well-being. They managed life’s ups and downs as they had in the past.
What I find disconcerting, however, is that one in four retirees is likely to feel confused and troubled after the retirement honeymoon phase. Eventually they will recover their equilibrium, but sometimes this disorientation phase can last for years. It can be a very uncomfortable time. And, although the disorientation phase is useful for determining what one really wants, it would be better for the retiree, their family, and their friends if the confusion and perplexity did not drag on too long.
With that in mind, it is useful to note that if we prepare, we’ll be better off. One of the conclusions drawn by the study was that “… planning for and feeling prepared for retirement were associated with lower anxiety and depression with respect to the retirement transition.”1 .
One way to prepare is to learn which variables in our lives will affect our psychological well-being positively, as we move into and through retirement, and which ones negatively. Much can be done to put helpful variables in place and to neutralize negative ones. If we do this work well, we can shorten the disorientation phase, allowing us to return sooner to the enjoyment of retirement with clarity and equilibrium.
Self-Coaching Questions
If you haven’t yet retired, which pattern of adjustment do you think you will likely follow?
Which variables do you want to add to your life? Which would you like to neutralize?
If you believe you won’t have any problems adjusting to retirement, might you be fooling yourself?
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[1] Wang, M. (2007). Profiling Retirees in the Retirement Transition and Adjustment Process: Examining the Longitudinal Change Patterns of Retirees’ Psychological Well-Being. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 455-474.
[2] Pinquart, M., Schindler, J. & Schindler, I. (2007). Changes of life satisfaction in the transition to retirement: A latent-class approach. Psychology and Aging, 22, 442-255.
[3] In this article, I focus on the U.S. study since it relates to a North American experience and it covers a shorter timespan, thus not involving the psychological effects of aging well into retirement.
[4] Some or all of these variables could be present. Plus others not in this study.
[5] Various studies report different results when looking at the differences in life satisfaction and/or psychological well-being between married and unmarried respondents. Generally, the differences are reported to be small.
[6] Some or all of these variables could be present. Plus others not in this study.