Journal of Aging and Social Policy, 21(3), July 2009, pp.277-295.
Publisher:
Routledge
Place of publication:
Philadelphia, USA
Pensioner political movements emerged in the interwar years in America and Europe. Documentary and empirical analyses confirm the influential role such movements played in helping shape the postwar social security systems of Western societies. Pensioner movements, qua pensioner movements, have failed to retain their influence, despite that “old age” and its demographic significance have become more salient. Three explanations for this are proposed: the first concerns the failure of old age to connect with the generational ethos of identity politics; the second reflects the nature of the actors now involved in the governance of old age; and the third concerns the individualization of retirement as a phase of life.
Pensioner political movements emerged in the interwar years in America and Europe. Documentary and empirical analyses confirm the influential role such movements played in helping shape the postwar social security systems of Western societies. Pensioner movements, qua pensioner movements, have failed to retain their influence, despite that “old age” and its demographic significance have become more salient. Three explanations for this are proposed: the first concerns the failure of old age to connect with the generational ethos of identity politics; the second reflects the nature of the actors now involved in the governance of old age; and the third concerns the individualization of retirement as a phase of life.
... towards the relative poverty of pensioners. Subsequent demographic ageing and the expanding cultures of the third age have undermined the homogeneity of retirement. Frailty has become a major source of social division, separating those who are merely older from those who are too old. This division excludes the ‘unsuccessfully’ aged from utilising the widening range of material and social goods
(Publisher abstract)
This paper concerns the social divisions of later life. Although research in this field has focused on class, gender and, more recently, sexuality as sources of division in later life, the division between the fit and the frail has tended to be ignored or viewed as an outcome of these other divisions. This paper challenges this assumption, arguing that corporeality constitutes a major social division in later life. This in many ways prefigures a return to the 19th-century categorisation of those ‘impotent through age’, whose position was among the most abject in society. Their ‘impotence’ was framed by an inability to engage in paid labour. Improved living standards during and after working life saw age's impotence fade in significance and in the immediate post-war era, social concern turned towards the relative poverty of pensioners. Subsequent demographic ageing and the expanding cultures of the third age have undermined the homogeneity of retirement. Frailty has become a major source of social division, separating those who are merely older from those who are too old. This division excludes the ‘unsuccessfully’ aged from utilising the widening range of material and social goods that characterise the third age. It is this social divide rather than those of past occupation or income that is becoming a more salient line of fracture in later life.
(Publisher abstract)
Ageing and Society, 31(1), January 2011, pp.146-172.
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
... the social inequalities underlying these activities change with older age and retirement. The empirical investigation uses data from the first two waves of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Findings suggested that different socio-economic backgrounds of different age groups explained a considerable part of the observed age differences in these activities. Analyses showed that respondents tended
This study highlighted the relationship between old age, retirement and social inequalities, as represented by participation in leisure activities. It considered whether old age, and particularly the transition into retirement, have an effect on participation in three selected activities (having a hobby, being a member of a club, and an index of participation in cultural events), and also whether the social inequalities underlying these activities change with older age and retirement. The empirical investigation uses data from the first two waves of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Findings suggested that different socio-economic backgrounds of different age groups explained a considerable part of the observed age differences in these activities. Analyses showed that respondents tended to continue their activities regardless of changes in work and age, with two exceptions, namely that retirement was positively related to having a hobby, and those who stopped working because of an illness experienced a significant decline in all three of the examined categories of activity.
Subject terms:
leisure activities, life style, older people, quality of life, retirement, ageing;
... have had the opportunity to look at how changes in one dimension are related to changes in others. The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) is the largest study of older people in England and contains data on the demographic, employment, housing and health characteristics of over 11,000 people aged 50 and over. Using data from the first wave of data collection and baseline data from the Health
Old age is becoming a time of transitions (and instability) as the labour market participation and the family arrangements of older people become more varied and as older people themselves become more mobile and healthier than ever before. Many studies exist that illustrate the improving health of the older population, their changing patterns of work, residence and family. However few studies have had the opportunity to look at how changes in one dimension are related to changes in others. The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) is the largest study of older people in England and contains data on the demographic, employment, housing and health characteristics of over 11,000 people aged 50 and over. Using data from the first wave of data collection and baseline data from the Health Surveys for England (from which the ELSA sample was drawn) the authors have looked at transitions over five dimensions amongst the over 50s in England: transitions in labour market position, health status, marital status, household composition and residential location. Transitions in each of the dimensions were explored for the sample as a whole and then by sex and by cohort. Finally the relations between the different transitions were explored. The results show the majority of the sample experience change in at least one dimension and around one quarter in two dimensions. There were few differences between the sexes, although women were more likely to experience a change in labour market position. However there were differences between the age groups. Those in the older groups were less likely to experience transitions, apart from transitions in health statuses. Overall the data confirm that later life is a dynamic portion of the life course.
Identifies the changing nature of ageing as both central to, and problematical for, modern life. The rise and subsequent crisis of welfare state systems have invested old age with a key role in redefining the position of citizens and the role of governments. Ageing has ceased to have any stable meaning in relation to biology, policy or experience. Instead it has become an open phenomenon of flux rather than of closure. The text focuses on these changes and examines in particular the significance of lifestyle cultures associated with the third age. Each chapter examines a different aspect of ageing and relates it to the core themes of self and identity, citizenship, and the body.
Identifies the changing nature of ageing as both central to, and problematical for, modern life. The rise and subsequent crisis of welfare state systems have invested old age with a key role in redefining the position of citizens and the role of governments. Ageing has ceased to have any stable meaning in relation to biology, policy or experience. Instead it has become an open phenomenon of flux rather than of closure. The text focuses on these changes and examines in particular the significance of lifestyle cultures associated with the third age. Each chapter examines a different aspect of ageing and relates it to the core themes of self and identity, citizenship, and the body.
Subject terms:
life style, older people, retirement, social policy, ageing, citizenship;
Ageing and Society, 23(6), November 2003, pp.761-778.
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
The context of this paper is the changing nature of later life in the United Kingdom. It examines some of the broader issues of early retirement. While there has been considerable debate about the restructuring of employment during the latter part of the 20th century which led to a shake-out of older workers from the labour force, less attention has been given to those who take voluntary early retirement. Given the importance of early retirement to the economy and to social policy, it is important to find out how individuals make retirement decisions. The paper examines the results of a semi-structured interview study of the decisions made by a purposively drawn sample of British civil servants who are participants in the Whitehall II study. The sample included participants who chose early retirement and those who did not. From the interview data, ideal types of possible routes into retirement have been constructed. Illustrating these ideal types, individual life histories are drawn upon to show how responses to the issues surrounding retirement feature in people's lives. It is argued that decisions about early retirement are not made in a vacuum, neither are they free from pressures or inducements. Some are to do with organisational restructuring, some are about financial offers, and some are influenced by the opportunities for leisure and self-fulfilment that early retirement offers. The paper concludes by arguing that early retirement needs to be studied as a process involving the interplay between structure and agency.
The context of this paper is the changing nature of later life in the United Kingdom. It examines some of the broader issues of early retirement. While there has been considerable debate about the restructuring of employment during the latter part of the 20th century which led to a shake-out of older workers from the labour force, less attention has been given to those who take voluntary early retirement. Given the importance of early retirement to the economy and to social policy, it is important to find out how individuals make retirement decisions. The paper examines the results of a semi-structured interview study of the decisions made by a purposively drawn sample of British civil servants who are participants in the Whitehall II study. The sample included participants who chose early retirement and those who did not. From the interview data, ideal types of possible routes into retirement have been constructed. Illustrating these ideal types, individual life histories are drawn upon to show how responses to the issues surrounding retirement feature in people's lives. It is argued that decisions about early retirement are not made in a vacuum, neither are they free from pressures or inducements. Some are to do with organisational restructuring, some are about financial offers, and some are influenced by the opportunities for leisure and self-fulfilment that early retirement offers. The paper concludes by arguing that early retirement needs to be studied as a process involving the interplay between structure and agency.
Subject terms:
labour market, organisational structure, public sector, retirement, staffing levels, ageing, decision making, economics, employment;