The hypothesis of this 1982 study of retirees in the city of Windsor (Canada) is that retired persons with the fewest housing constraints should exhibit a more active leisure behavior pattern and a higher expression of life satisfaction. To obtain the retirees' socioeconomic and demographic profile data, life histories, freetime activity patterns…

This study sought to uncover the variables which account for much of the variance in life satisfaction among older residents of the Lynds' classic, sociological community setting: Middletown, USA (Muncie/Delaware County, Indiana). Data were collected in 1987 from 400 random telephone interviews with older adults (60 years of age and older). Six…

This Technical Committee Report provides an overview and historical sketch of research in aging and proposes a need for new knowledge. An examination of key issues notes the difficulty in assigning priority to research topics, and identifies emerging issues of public concern including: (1) physical health (alcohol and drugs, falls and accidents,…

Much research has focused on retirees and disengagement from prior work roles. One neglected variation is entry into second careers. Seventy persons, aged 50 to 87, who had retired from or left one occupation and taken up a second career selling their work at art and craft fairs, were interviewed. Respondents had held a variety of responsible…

Some research has found that women's retirement from the labor force produces significant changes in their lives and requires further investigation. The effects of career pattern and retirement on activity involvement and life satisfaction for women who had been in the work force was investigated. Subjects were members of the Terman Study of the…

Because of increased life spans and lower fertility rates, adults over 65 will continue to comprise a larger proportion of the population. The traditional emphasis on individual and family care of older Americans has been replaced by an emphasis on the obligation of society. Currently, poor health is the most prevalent problem reported among older…

This paper describes a program designed to help preretirees and retirees prepare for retirement. The program explores the needs, stereotypes, dilemmas, challenges, and satisfactions of retirement. An exercise to explore personal values is described in which previous program participants rank ordered 10 top-priority concerns of income, health,…

Although the older person's economic stiuation has improved, older women, minorities, and rural residents have incomes significantly lower than those for the older population in general. Older married women may appear to be financially secure, but many of their resources often disappear when their husbands die. Widowhood or divorce endangers the…

This speech focuses on women and private pension plans, such as private pension coverage and smaller benefit amounts. Pension issues affecting women as employees include participation in plans, vesting, break-in service, benefit accruals, integration with Social Security, sex-based actuarial tables, portability, inflation, and individual…

It has been proposed that the same type of aptitude and ability tests required for initial job entry be used to indicate whether an individual can continue to perform effectively in that job. A review of the nature of such tests indicates that they would be inappropriate for use in retirement decisions. A proficiency test of the kind used at the…

A case study of 1100 high school teachers in a large urban district that has experienced declining enrollment for eight years illustrates several of the exit options and career mobility effects of riffing (reduction in force). The findings show that during decline, freely chosen movement out (exit), or laterally (moderate number of location…

Although prior research has shown the importance of income and health status in predicting the decision to retire before age 65, a systematic comparision of the relative importance of social pressures to other variables important to the retirement decision has not been conducted. In order to ascertain the usefulness of the behavioral intention…

Much research data are available on work and retirement which discounts the image of retirement as an affliction imposed on older workers. These findings indicate that increasing numbers of workers choose to retire before any mandatory age, few wish to return to work, and most are content with their retirement lives; however, negative views about…

The Foundation to Assist California Teachers (FACT) is a non-profit organization which owns and operates retirement housing for teachers. To identify the demand for additional retirement housing facilities and explore "shared housing" alternatives, retired women teachers (N=2,740) in California completed a mail questionnaire which assessed: (1)…

The research on work and retirement attitudes is discrepant; some studies report a positive relationship between work attitudes and retirement attitudes, while other investigations find a negative or no relationship. Anticipated work changes and work and retirement attitudes were examined to determine patterns of withdrawal from occupational roles…