Retirement

Abstract

Retirement broadly refers to older workers' withdrawal from paid working life. Given the demographic development of population aging and its associated societal challenges, the transition from work to retirement is garnering increased attention, both in policy debates and in scientific literature. The nature and timing of retirement are also changing, as evidenced by rising retirement ages across OECD countries and the proliferation of retirement pathways. This entry provides a brief description of the scientific literature about retirement and discusses topics that are central in sociological retirement research, such as the role of (1) life histories, (2) social stratification, (3) spousal context, and (4) organizational and country context for understanding retirement transitions. Directions for future research are also described.