Retirement Planning

Current research suggests that retirement has positive effects on life satisfaction and health, although this may vary depending on the individual’s circumstances. Predictors of retirement satisfaction are presented in Box 22-1. Decisions to retire are often based on financial resources, attitude toward work, family roles and responsibilities, the nature of the job, access to health insurance, chronological age, health, and self-perceptions of ability to adjust to retirement (Box 22-2). Retirement planning is advisable during early adulthood and essential in middle age. However, people differ in their focus on the past, present, and future and their realistic ability to “put away something” for future needs. Retirement preparation programs are usually aimed at employees with high levels of education and occupational status, those with private pension coverage, and government employees. Thus the people most in need of planning assistance may be those least likely to have any available, let alone the resources for an adequate retirement. Individuals who are retiring in poor health, culturally and racially diverse persons, and those in lower socioeconomic levels may experience greater concerns in retirement and may need specialized counseling. These groups are often neglected in retirement planning programs.

Working couples must plan together for retirement. Decisions will depend on their career goals, shared future interests, and the quality of their interpersonal relationship. The following are some questions one must weigh when deciding to retire or continue working:

Retirement education plans are supplied through employers, group lectures, individual counseling, books. DVDs, and Internet resources. However, at this juncture and in light of the many hazards experienced by pre-retirees, planning is often insufficient. Many individuals have very high expectations for the final third of their lives. Although federal laws encourage increased participation in company-sponsored 401(k) plans, many of these plans are unreliable and rates of return have diminished considerably. The continued availability of Social Security is of great concern to current and future retirees (Chapter 20).

The adequacy of retirement income depends not only on work history but also on marital history. The poverty rates of older women are excessively high. Couples who had previous marriages and divorces may have significantly lower economic resources available than those in first marriages. Child support, divorce settlements, and pension apportionment to ex-spouses may have diminished retirement income. This problem is an ever-increasing impediment to retirement because, among couples presently approaching retirement age, fewer than half are in a first marriage. Policies have been based on the traditional lifelong marriage, and this is no longer appropriate.

Special Considerations in Retirement

Retirement security depends on the “three-legged stool” of Social Security pensions, savings, and investments (Stanford and Usita, 2002). Older people with disabilities, those who have lacked access to education or held low-paying jobs with no benefits, and those not eligible for Social Security are at economic risk during retirement years. Culturally and racially diverse older persons, women—especially widows and those divorced or never married—immigrants, and gay and lesbian men and women often face greater challenges related to adequate income and benefits in retirement. Unmarried women, particularly African Americans, face the most negative prospects for retirement now and for at least the next 20 years (Hooyman and Kiyak, 2011).

Inadequate coverage for women in retirement is common because their work histories have been sporadic and diverse. Women are often called on to retire earlier than anticipated because of family needs. Whereas most men have always worked outside the home, it is only within the past 30 years that this has been the expectation of women. Therefore large cohort differences exist. Traditionally, the variability of women’s work histories, interrupted careers, the residuals of sexist pension policies, Social Security inequities, and low-paying jobs created hazards for adequacy of income in retirement. The scene is gradually changing in many respects, but the gender bias remains.

Basing retirement calculations on gender and projected survival statistics is now illegal, though until the early 1980s, women were allotted less pension income based purely on their expected longevity compared with men. Although this is no longer in force, women who retired 20 or 25 years ago remain penalized because of gender. Older women are likely to have several years of no earnings calculated into the averages that determine the amount of their Social Security benefits. Some women find that they will receive more if their Social Security benefits are calculated on their husband’s earnings; this may be true even though widowed or divorced. The Social Security Administration must be contacted regarding these matters because many variables must be considered.

Barriers to equal treatment for LGBT couples include job discrimination, unequal treatment under Social Security, pension plans, and 401(k) plans. LGBT couples are not eligible for Social Security survivor benefits, and unmarried partners cannot claim pension plan rights after the death of the pension plan participant. These policies definitely place LGBT elders at a disadvantage in retirement planning.

Divorce

In the past, divorce was considered a stigmatizing event. Today, however, it is so common that a person is inclined to forget the ostracizing effects of divorce from 60 years ago. Divorced and separated (including married with spouse absent) older persons represented only 11.8% of all older persons in 2006 (Administration on Aging, 2008). However, this percentage has increased since 1980, when approximately 5.3% of the older population were divorced or separated with the spouse absent. There are large generational and individual differences in expectations from marriage, but older couples are becoming less likely to stay in an unsatisfactory marriage. Health care professionals must avoid making assumptions and be alert to the possibility of marital dissatisfaction in old age. Nurses should ask, “How would you describe your marriage?”

Long-term relationships are varied and complex, with many factors forming the glue that holds them together. Marital breakdown may be more devastating in old age because it is often unanticipated and may occur concurrently with other significant losses. Health care workers must be concerned with supporting a client’s decision to seek a divorce and with assisting him or her in seeking counseling in the transition. A nurse should alert the client that a divorce will bring on a grieving process similar to the death of a spouse and that a severe disruption in coping capacity may occur until the client adjusts to a new life. The grief may be more difficult to cope with because no socially sanctioned patterns have been established, as is the case with widowhood. In addition, tax and fiscal policies favor married couples, and many divorced elderly women are at a serious economic disadvantage in retirement.

Nontraditional Couples

As the variations in families grow, so do the types of coupled relationships. Among the types of couples we see today are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) couples. Although the number of LGBT people of any age has remained elusive, an estimated 3 million Americans over age 65 are LGBT with projections that this figure is likely to double by 2030 (Gelo, 2008). Many LGBT individuals are raising children, either alone or as part of a couple. Although these couples are less often seen in the aging population, they are still there but may not be obvious because of long-standing discrimination and fear. It is important to recognize that there are considerable differences in the experiences of younger LGBT individuals when compared to those who are older. Older LGBT individuals did not have the benefit of antidiscrimination laws and support for same-sex partners. They were also more likely to keep their sexual orientation and relationships “hidden.”

Many older LGBT individuals have been part of a live-in couple at some time during their life, but as they age, they are more likely to live alone. Some may have developed social networks of friends, members of their family of origin, and the larger community but many lack support. Organizations that serve these communities need to enhance outreach and support mechanisms to enable these individuals to maintain independence and age safely and in good health (Wallace et al, 2011). The continued legal and policy barriers faced by LGBT elders contribute to the challenges for those in domestic partnerships as they age. Recent HHS recommendations addressing these issues may improve access to benefits in the future (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011) (See Chapter 19). Healthy People 2020 includes a new section on LGBT health and efforts to improve health and address health disparities (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010).

Increasing numbers of same-sex couples are choosing to have families, and this will call for greater understanding of these “new” types of families, young and old. The majority of research has involved gay and lesbian couples, and much less is known about bisexual and transgender relationships. Much more knowledge of cohort, cultural, and generational differences among age groups is needed to understand the dramatic changes in the lives of gay and lesbian individuals in family lifestyles. The National Resource Center of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Aging has a new portal focused on caregiving resources for LGBT caregivers (http://www.lgbtagingcenter.org/resources/resources/CFM?t=1). Chapter 21 discusses the health concerns of LGBT older adults in more detail.