The Unbearable Lightness of Retirement

Abstract

Participants in a longitudinal study of retirement experienced various forms of frustration and fulfillment in the rituals that were held to mark their transition from workers to retirees. Official workplace ceremonies were relatively ineffective as a formal support system, whereas informal rites created by intimates, and postretirement travel, were more helpful in negotiating this liminal period. The content of rhetoric, the way gifts and guest lists were chosen, and the role of fantasy and physical separation in the ritual process all proved to be key variables. The lightness with which retirement is culturally conceived and the uneven nature of its ritual celebration thus prove to be among its heaviest burdens.