The purpose of this paper is to find out what academics do when approaching retirement, and why; as well as to reflect on the process and consequences of reaching a retirement decision -- for themselves, the university system, and the wider community. Our study concentrates on baby boomers, as this large cohort starts to retire or become eligible…

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the link between age and proficiency in information-processing skills, based on information drawn from the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). The data reveal significant age-related differences in proficiencies, strongly suggesting that proficiency tends to "naturally" decline with age. Age…

"Retiring Lives" presents fourteen personal real life stories from people at various stages of retiring. Each author recounts their own story about retiring, bringing together many aspects of the experiences: the social, psychological and practical. These inspirational and illustrated stories will encourage the reader to hold up these…

Old-age policy in France has evolved historically in three critical dimensions that also correspond generally to post-World War II developments in France: the right to retirement (pensions); improved living conditions (e.g., autonomy, housing); and continued participation in the labor force. The last focus is currently a controversial one, given…

In his assessment of the growth of universities of the third age, the author examines the movement's underlying challenge to the inequalities of traditional education. He discusses the idea and movement in France, the worldwide movement, and the different forms the movement has taken in different countries. (CT)

The university for the third age (U3A) began in 1973 when a professor organized a summer program for retired persons at the Universite des Sciences Socialies, Toulouse, France. The Toulouse model included a weekly public lecture on a major topic of concern for older persons, discussion groups, seminars, and recreational facilities, taking…

This brief suggests that Universities of the Third Age (U3As) provide learning opportunities for older adults. Worldwide, they typically take one of two forms. Based on the first U3A founded in 1973, the French model is university based and offers mostly formal courses. Arising in Cambridge in 1981, the British model emphasizes informal,…

In the new context of economic recovery, employment creation, new technologies, and labor shortages in some sectors, France cannot sustain a systematic policy of rejecting aging workers. This policy has led gradually to the recognition that early retirement was merely an easy way out of the problem that has many substantially adverse effects on…