Time, age, and the transition to retirement: New evidence on life-course flexibility?

The past twenty-five years have seen dramatic changes in the transition to retirement. This article considers an overlooked set of social processes-in formal age structuring-within the context of these changes. Data are drawn from a random sample of 319 adults from the Chicago area. For about half of the respondents, age was considered an irrelevant dimension for both men's and women's retirement. Those respondents who found age relevant cited dea dlines that were clustered not only around the critical points at which res earchers have observed regularity in retirement patterns, but they also inc luded the lower junctures that are emerging as part of the shift toward ear lier retirement. These deadlines most often marked the place of retirement relative to a larger set of work transitions, or they budgeted enough lime to pursue developmental opportunities at the end of life. However, most res pondents said there were no serious consequences for retiring late. Importa nt patterns also emerged across the background characteristics of our respo ndents. These findings feed into several provocative debates that relate ti me and age to models of life-course flexibility or rigidity.