The current challenges for psychological retirement research

The aim of this theoretical review is to outline how the levels of retirement (retirement as an institution, life stage and personal experience) go together and what it means for psychological retirement research. The first section summarizes the brief history of the retirement institution. The second part describes the situation when the baby boomers generation comes into retirement age. In this generation, changes in life cycle patterns, such as work or parental delays, may be observed, but in particular, it is the introduction of a third phase of life that changes the meaning of a traditionally understood retirement. The third part of the paper presents theories on which psychological retirement research is based (role theory, continuity theory, the life course perspective and the resource-based dynamic model). Characterized are the topics that are examined most (retirement as decision making, late career development and adjustment). The author argues that the psychological theory of retirement can not be constructed, as the retirement is not a psychological phenomenon. This, however, does not diminish the potential of the psychological knowledge of this life stage in the present historical period. Therefore, the fourth and fifth parts of the paper address two themes where "old" notions and "new" external retirement options are encountered: retirement transition and retirement adjustment. It points to the fragmentation and diversity of cur- rent retirement transition and its implications for research. The problem of the persistence of the (low) retirement age is analyzed. When examining retirement adjustment, the sequence of this process and the need to separate adjustment and retirement life satisfaction indicators are highlighted. In conclusion, the author states psychological retirement research faces the challenge of reflecting societal changes and examining their consequences for the psychological functioning and well-being of individuals.