Catherine Haslam

Adjustment to retirement as a process of social identity change

Retirement is an inevitable part of aging for most people, but successful adjustment is far from straightforward. About 30 percent of people find the transition highly stressful and experience a marked reduction in well-being and this is despite engaging in financial planning. As these data, suggest successful transition into retirement is about much more than having enough money. Recent research has begun to focus on the role of social factors given the upheaval that this significant life change imposes on our social networks. Supporting this development are emerging data showing that people who maintain and extend their social ties, especially those with social groups (e.g., work/ professional, friendship, community groups), live longer and have a better quality of life after retirement. So what is it about these social group networks that promotes health and well-being in the retirement transition? This is the key question that this project will address.

This project will draw on recent data from UK, US and Australian populations to examine the extent to which changes in our social group relationships as we retire affects adjustment. It aims to improve understanding of the nature and size of that influence to more effectively manage that social change with a view to optimising adjustment, health, and well-being as we age into retirement. The Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC) provides a framework to investigate these issues as it specifies mechanisms that can buffer the effects of social group change in life transitions. It has yet to be fully interrogated in the retirement context and this will provide the theoretical focus for the project.