WG5: Career development in later life and retirement

WG5: Career development in later life and retirement

Description

As the population ages, retirement transition/adjustment and retirees’ well-being have become topics of great concern for governments and organizations. Around 25% of retirees experience a drop in wellbeing and health after leaving the workforce, and scholars have recommended that retirement preparation should start early because this can affect adjustment in later life. Moreover, because pension system reforms in developed countries have included delays to mandatory retirement, the design of more sustainable and flexible careers for the older workforce can prolong the working life, support a healthy transition to retirement, and slow increases in old age dependency ratios.

There is a need to better understand the boundary conditions and psychological processes involved in career transitions and bridge employment (e.g., late-life entrepreneurship) as later careers become more diverse and unpredictable. Older workers are at greater risk of discrimination than younger workers when transitioning into careers that may not match their existing job experience. The specific psychological mechanisms behind these phenomena are not yet well understood, and there remain many unresolved questions regarding late career and retirement transition processes. 

As such, essential questions that the Action will address are as follows:

View other WGs

WG1: Work and organizational practices for a multi-age workforce

Aging at work involves many age related changes in physical, cognitive, and emotional capacities and skills as well as in perceptions and social roles.

WG2: Successful aging at work

Successful aging at work refers to the proactive maintenance of, or adaptive recovery to maintain, high levels of ability and motivation to continue working throughout the lifespan.

WG3: Integration of age-diverse workers and knowledge transfer

Increasing age diversity at work is both an opportunity and a challenge. Workers of different ages bring complementary competencies to the workplace, increasing creativity and innovation.

WG4: Aging and technology at work

Work in the 21st century is marked by profound changes driven by the technological revolution, digitalization, and the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI). These changes have benefits and costs for...