Retirement Well-Being: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

The objective of this systematic literature review was to investigate the variables that would improve well-being in retirement by analyzing relevant empirical studies. In the literature search, six keywords (retirement, positive psychology, well-being, satisfaction, happiness and quality of life) were used in six international academic portals. This search identifi ed 403 articles, and those meeting the preestablished inclusion criteria were extracted. The 55 articles selected were analyzed based on nine categories: language, year, journal, country, objective, dependent variable, instruments, independent variables and results. The studies had a longitudinal, transversal design or reported on instrument creation and validation. The literature review pointed out a large number of variables, confi rming the multidimensionality of the constructs. Aspects highlighted include health, economic situation, gender, marital status, interpersonal relationships, whether retirement was voluntary, retirement duration and leisure activities. A compilation of variables and an agenda for future studies are proposed based on the results of this review.

Satisfaction in Retirement: A Comparison Between Brazil and Portugal

“…Furthermore, the results of the analyses confirm the assumptions of convergent and discriminant validity, in addition to invariance at four levels of analysis (configural, metric, scalar and residual). These results not only confirm that the averages can be compared between the groups (Damásio, 2013), they represent an advance in the measures of satisfaction in retirement, filling a significant gap in the national and international literature (Amorim & França, 2019a). This study's findings seem to strengthen the idea that, regardless of the country, a retiree satisfaction is composed of satisfaction with individual resources (Dingemans & Henkens, 2015;Earl et al, 2015;Solinge & Henkens, 2008), with relationships (Dingemans & Henkens, 2015;França, 2008;Rafalski & Andrade, 2017) and with the collective resources offered by the location where he or she resides (França, Leite, Simões, Garcia, & Ataliba, 2019).…”

“…These results are important in that they extend the Brazilian findings to another country, even if they now need to be applied in countries with more diverse cultural characteristics. A better understanding of the construct of satisfaction in retirement can improve organizational and social practices such as Retirement Preparation Programs (RPP), in which this and other instruments can be used for assessment (França, 2008;Amorim & França, 2019a).…”

“…In light of the need to fill the gaps in studies about satisfaction in retirement, including the scarcity of trans-cultural studies (Amorim & França, 2019a), the aim of this study was to assess the difference in levels of satisfaction among retired people living in Brazil and Portugal. Based on these indicators and the literature discussed above, the following hypotheses were developed:…”

Retirement or no Retirement? The Decision’s Effects on Cognitive Functioning, Well-Being, and Quality of Life

“…However, mentally demanding jobs are not associated with affective variables [ 55 ]. Overall life satisfaction does not depend on the type of professional activity [ 5 ]. On the contrary, the latter explains the degree of satisfaction with past or current work.…”

“…For some persons, it simply means the end of employment, a new role in society, and the beginning of old age [ 3 , 4 ]. For others, it means a permanent liberation from stressful work [ 5 ]. However, for an increasing number of people, retirement occurs during a productive and satisfactory professional stage of life and is considered a personal loss [ 6 , 7 ].…”