McGann, Michael and Kimberley, Helen and Bowman, Dina and Biggs, Simon (2016) The Netherworld between Work and Retirement. Social Policy and Society, 15 (4). pp. 625-636. ISSN 1474-7464

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Abstract

A major theme within social gerontology is how retirement 'is being re-organised, if not undone'. Institutional supports for retirement are weakening, with pension ages rising in many countries. Increasing numbers of older workers are working past traditional retirement age on a part-time or self-employed basis, and a growing minority are joining the ranks of the long-term unemployed. Drawing upon narrative interviews with older Australians who are involuntarily non-employed or underemployed, this article explores how the 'unravelling' of retirement is experienced by a group of older workers on the periphery of the labour market. While policy makers hope that higher pension ages will lead to a longer period of working life, the risk is that older workers, especially those experiencing chronic insecurity in the labour market, will be caught in a netherworld between work and retirement.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Cite as: McGann, M., Kimberley, H., Bowman, D., & Biggs, S. (2016). The Netherworld between Work and Retirement. Social Policy and Society, 15(4), 625-636. doi:10.1017/S147474641600021X
Keywords:	older workers; long-term unemployment; early exit; precarity;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Institutes > Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute, MUSSI Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology
Item ID:	13029
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1017/S147474641600021X
Depositing User:	Michael McGann
Date Deposited:	04 Jun 2020 15:55
Journal or Publication Title:	Social Policy and Society
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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