Work and Retirement

Originally published in 1982, Dr Parker, a sociologist, provides a careful and critical examination of what we knew about retirement and discusses possible alternative answers to the various problems involved at the time. The history of retirement is first considered, followed by a conceptual analysis of types of retirement. There are chapters on preparation for retirement, the capacity of older people to work, and on the varying experiences of retirement. Separate consideration is given to the question of work after retirement age and whether retirement is actually experienced as leisure. The concluding chapter examines various policy alternatives for dealing with the problems raised earlier in the book.

Work and Retirement was intended for students of industrial sociology and industrial psychology, for personnel and human resource professionals, for trade unionists and for all those who had an interest in understanding the developments in the field of retirement and the older working population. Now it can be read in its historical context.