Abstract
Our study seeks to understanding why and when older adults intend to retire requires looking beyond isolated individual characteristics and considering the broader social and structural contexts in which these decisions are made. In this paper, we investigate how intersecting social positions—defined by age, gender, health status, income, and care responsibilities—shape intentions to leave paid work. Drawing on the 9th wave from 2021/2022 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we focus on adults aged 50 years and older who remain active in the labor market. To capture the combined and interactive influences of these social factors, we apply a Multilevel Analysis of Individual Heterogeneity and Discriminatory Accuracy (MAIHDA) framework. This innovative method allows us to model retirement intention as a binary outcome (yes/no) while simultaneously assessing both additive effects of single dimensions and any additional, unexplained variation that might emerge at their intersections. Our findings indicate that intentions to retire are predominantly driven by the additive contributions of age, gender, health, income, and caregiving responsibilities. While some minor intersection-specific deviations exist, the discriminatory accuracy of the intersectional strata is low, suggesting limited unexplained variation beyond the sum of individual factors. By integrating an intersectional perspective with robust multilevel modeling, our study provides a more nuanced understanding of retirement planning in later life. Results are questioning assumptions about strong synergistic effects. The findings carry practical implications for policymakers and employers seeking to design equitable retirement policies and support structures that acknowledge diversity in aging workforces.
Presenters
Marian VasileAssociate Professor, Sociology, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, Romania Elisabeth Ugreninov
Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway Laura Tufa
Researcher, Social Science Division, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, Bucuresti, Romania Iuliana Precupetu
Senior Researcher, Social Sciences, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, Bucuresti, Romania
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Social and Cultural Perspectives on Aging
KEYWORDS
Retirement Intentions, Intersectionality, MAIHDA, SHARE
