Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T00:49:23.168Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Conditions of existence and subjective perceptions of retirement: quantitative evidence from France

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2020

Bénédicte Apouey Open the ORCID record for Bénédicte Apouey [Opens in a new window]
Bénédicte Apouey*
Affiliation:
Paris School of Economics–CNRS, Paris, France
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article explores subjective perceptions of retirement in France, using original quantitative data on the customers of a not-for-profit insurance company. The sample contains individuals aged 40–84, who are either in the labour force (N = 923) or retired (N = 705). Perceptions of retirement are measured using closed questions on views of the retirement transition (these views can be positive, negative or neutral) and definitions of retirement (retirement can be interpreted as a period of freedom, boredom, greater risk of precariousness, etc.). Using a number of different social indicators, we examine whether differences in social conditions translate into heterogeneous perceptions. We also investigate whether social differences in perceptions fade away with increasing age. Both working-age individuals and retirees generally have a positive view of the retirement transition and often define retirement as a period of freedom. Perceptions of retirement are shaped by social conditions: a higher level of education and income, greater wealth, better health and stronger social involvement go hand in hand with rosier perceptions. Moreover, we uncover a strengthening of this social gradient with increasing age. Finally, perceptions are positively correlated with satisfaction in various domains, for retirees.

Keywords

retirementcareer's endageingperceptionssocial conditionssatisfactionFrance
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , March 2022 , pp. 564 - 587
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aouici, S (2016) Le passage à la retraite en période de réformes: vécu et expériences. Retraite et Société 74, 117–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Apouey, BH (2018 a) Les attentes en termes de services pour les seniors: le rôle de l'altruisme et de l'anticipation de la dépendance. Revue Française d'Economie 33, 15–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Apouey, BH (2018 b) Preparation for old age in France: the roles of preferences and expectations. Journal of the Economics of Ageing 12, 15–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Apouey, BH (2019) Présentation de l'enquête Bien vieillir Harmonie Mutuelle. Paris School of Economics, Working Paper 2019-54.Google Scholar
Apouey, B (in press) Inégalités socioéconomiques et définitions subjectives du bien vieillir: résultats d'une enquête quantitative. Retraite et Société.Google Scholar
Apouey, BH, Guven, C and Senik, C (2019) Retirement and unexpected health shocks. Economics & Human Biology 33, 116–123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arbuz, G (2013) Le départ à la retraite: perceptions et accompagnement. Retraite et Société 65, 168–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Askenazy, P (2004) Les Désordres du Travail: Enquête sur le Nouveau Productivisme. Paris: Seuil.Google Scholar
August, RA (2011) Women's retirement meanings: context, changes, and organizational lessons. Gender in Management: An International Journal 26, 351–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanchet, D and Debrand, T (2007) Aspiration à la retraite, santé et satisfaction au travail: une comparaison européenne. Irdes, Working Paper Series G 2007 / 03. Available at http://www.epsilon.insee.fr/jspui/bitstream/1/5829/1/g2007-03.pdf.Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P (1979) La Distinction. Critique Sociale du Jugement. Paris: Editions de Minuit.Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P (1987) Choses Dites. Paris: Editions de Minuit.Google Scholar
Bozon, M, Gaymu, J and Lelièvre, E (2018) L'expérience du vieillissement autour de la soixantaine en France. Age subjectif et genre. Ethnologie Française 171, 401–412.10.3917/ethn.183.0401CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bué, J (2002) Temps partiel des femmes : entre choix et contraintes. Premières Synthèses.Google Scholar
Cambois, E, Garrouste, C and Pailhé, A (2017) Gender career divide and women's disavantage in depressive symptoms and physical limitations in France. SSM – Population Health 3, 81–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caradec, V (2009) Retraite ‘à la carte’ et ‘libre choix’ individuel. Réflexion sur les transformations contemporaines de la retraite. Gérontologie et Société 32, 25–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caradec, V (2015) Sociologie de la Vieillesse et du Vieillissement. Paris: Armand Colin.Google Scholar
Caradec, V (2017) L’épreuve de la retraite. Transformations sociétales, expériences individuelles. Nouvelle Revue de Psychosociologie 1, 17–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craig, L and Mullan, K (2010) Parenthood, gender and work–family time in the United States, Australia, Italy, France, and Denmark. Journal of Marriage and Family 72, 1344–1361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crenner, E (2006) Etre retraité: quelle identité après le travail? Economie et Statistique 393–394, 41–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dave, D, Rashad, I and Spasojevic, J (2008) The effects of retirement on physical and mental health outcomes. Southern Economic Journal 75, 497–523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foster, L and Walker, A (2013) Gender and active ageing in Europe. European Journal of Ageing 10, 3–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fouquereau, E, Fernandez, A, Fonseca, AM, Paul, MC and Uotinen, V (2005) Perceptions of and satisfaction with retirement: a comparison of six European Union countries. Psychology and Aging 20, 524–528.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gale, CR and Cooper, C (2018) Attitudes to ageing and change in frailty status: the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Gerontology 64, 58–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gestin, A (2003) Temps, espaces et corps à la retraite: des paradoxes à penser. L'Homme & la Société 1, 169–190.10.3917/lhs.147.0169CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guillemard, A-M (1972) La Retraite, Une Mort Sociale. Paris: Mouton.Google Scholar
Guillemard, A-M (2002) De la retraite mort sociale à la retraite solidaire. Gérontologie et Sociétés 3, 53–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guillemard, A-M (2010) Les Défis du Vieillissement. Age, Emploi, Retraite, Perspectives Internationales. Paris: Armand Colin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haberkern, K, Schmid, T and Szydlik, M (2015) Gender differences in intergenerational care in European welfare states. Ageing & Society 35, 298–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huppert, FA, Marks, N, Clark, A, Siegrist, J, Stutzer, A, Vittersø, J and Wahrendorf, M (2009) Measuring well-being across Europe: description of the ESS Well-being Module and preliminary findings. Social Indicators Research 91, 301–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Idler, EL and Benyamini, Y (1997) Self-rated health and mortality: a review of twenty-seven community studies. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 38, 21–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Khireddine-Medouni, I, Lemaître, A, Homère, J, Plaine, J, Garras, L, Riol, M-C and Valenty, M (2016) Augmentation des taux de prévalence de la souffrance psychique en lien avec le travail chez les salariés actifs en France entre 2007 et 2012, à partir du programme MCP. Archives des Maladies Profesionnelles et de l'Environnement 77, 438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohli, M (1986) The world we forgot: a historical review of the life course. In Marshall, VW (ed.), Later Life: The Social Psychology of Ageing. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, pp. 271–303.Google Scholar
Kohli, M (2007) The institutionalization of the life course: looking back to look ahead. Research in Human Development 4, 253–271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kornadt, AE and Rothermund, K (2011) Contexts of aging: assessing evaluative age stereotypes in different life domains. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 66B, 547–556.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laberge, S, Dumas, A, Rail, G, Dallaire, H and Voyer, P (2003) Les conceptions du ‘bien-vieillir’ d'aînées de milieux favorisés et défavorisés. Revue Québécoise de Psychologie 24, 71–93.Google Scholar
Laroque, P (1962) Politique de la Vieillesse. Paris: La Documentation Française.Google Scholar
Lawton, MP (1975) The Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale: a revision. Journal of Gerontology 30, 85–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Libault, D (2019) Rapport de la concertation Grand âge et autonomie. Available at https://solidaritessante.gouv.fr/affaires-sociales/personnes-agees/concertation-grand-age-et-autonomie/article/rapport-de-la-concertation-grand-age-etautonomie.Google Scholar
Macia, E, Lahmam, A, Baali, A, Boetsch, G and Chapuis-Lucciani, N (2009) Perception of age stereotypes and self-perception of aging: a comparison of French and Moroccan populations. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology 24, 391–410.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mutran, EJ, Reitzes, DC and Fernandez, ME (1997) Factors that influence attitudes toward retirement. Research on Aging 19, 251–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nishimura, Y, Oikawa, M and Motegi, H (2018) What explains the difference in the effect of retirement on health? Evidence from global aging data. Journal of Economic Surveys 32, 792–847.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Onyx, J and Baker, E (2006) Retirement expectations: gender differences and partner effects in an Australian employer-funded sample. Australasian Journal on Ageing 25, 80–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pailhé, A (2005) Working conditions: how are older workers protected in France? Population 60, 93–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quéniart, A and Charpentier, M (2012) Older women and their representations of old age: a qualitative analysis. Ageing & Society 32, 983–1007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rapoport, B (2006) Les intentions de départ à la retraite des salariés du privé âgés de 54 à 59 ans. Etudes et Résultats.Google Scholar
Repetti, M and Calasanti, T (2018) ‘Since I retired I can take things as they come, for example, the laundry’: gender, class and freedom in retirement in Switzerland. Ageing & Society 38, 1556–1580.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roland-Lévy, C and Berjot, S (2009) Social representations of retirement in France: a descriptive study. Applied Psychology 58, 418–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowe, JW and Kahn, RL (1998) Successful Aging: The MacArthur Foundation Study. New York, NY: Pantheon.Google Scholar
Salembier, L (2015) Fins de carrière autour des années 2000: une hausse des situations de chômage à l'approche des 60 ans. Etudes et Résultats.Google Scholar
Sargent-Cox, KA, Anstey, KJ and Luszcz, MA (2014) Longitudinal change of self-perceptions of aging and mortality. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 69B, 168–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treanton, J-R (1958) Les réactions à la retraite. Une étude psycho-sociologique. Revue Française du Travail 12, 149–165.Google Scholar
Van Dyk, S, Lessenich, S, Denninger, T and Richter, A (2013) The many meanings of ‘active ageing’. Confronting public discourse with older people's stories. Recherches Sociologiques et Anthropologiques 44, 97–115.Google Scholar
Van Oyen, H, Nusselder, W, Jagger, C, Kolip, P, Cambois, E and Robine, J-M (2013) Gender difference in healthy life years within the EU: an exploration of the ‘health–survival’ paradox. International Journal of Public Health 58, 143–155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Praag, BMS and Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A (2004) Happiness Quantified: A Satisfaction Calculus Approach. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wurm, S and Benyamini, Y (2014) Optimism buffers the detrimental effect of negative self-perceptions of ageing on physical and mental health. Psychology & Health 29, 832–848.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhu, R (2016) Retirement and its consequences for women's health in Australia. Social Science & Medicine 163, 117–125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: File

Apouey supplementary material

Tables A-D

Download Apouey supplementary material(File)
File 28.8 KB