Retirement transitions in times of institutional change: Theoretical concept

Abstract

For more than three decades, many European and other affluent societies have been following a trend of fostering older workers’ exit from employment well before reaching formal retirement ages. Yet, faced with demographic aging, many countries have undergone a substantial change in their policies toward older workers, reflected in a shift to a policy explicitly fostering longer working careers and employment retention of older workers. This introductory chapter takes this institutional shift as a starting point for developing a novel theoretical framework that conceptualizes work and retirement transitions within this changing institutional landscape.