From Multidisciplinary Perspectives to Interdisciplinary Pathways: An Agenda for Future Retirement Research and Policy

About the Topic

The goal of this theme group is to bring together scholars from different fields in order to review the breadth of literature on retirement plans and transitions, and develop an interdisciplinary agenda that will guide research efforts in developed nations over the next two decades. We will address three significant overarching research questions:

What are the main patterns of work and other productive roles in which adults are engaged at the end of their labour market careers?
How are these patterns of productive behaviour influenced by the institutional context, the household context, and employers’ behaviours?
To what extent are these patterns of productive behaviour the result of active planning and agency by older adults developing their own life courses?

Answering these questions would represent a tremendous step forward in understanding how older adults design their life courses at the end of their working careers and the factors that restrict available options.