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Productive activity patterns among 60–70-year-old retirees in Germany

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2018

ANDREAS MERGENTHALER ,
INES SACKREUTHER  and
URSULA M. STAUDINGER
ANDREAS MERGENTHALER*
Affiliation:
Federal Institute for Population Research, Wiesbaden, Germany.
INES SACKREUTHER
Affiliation:
Federal Institute for Population Research, Wiesbaden, Germany.
URSULA M. STAUDINGER
Affiliation:
Columbia Aging Center, Columbia University, New York, USA.
*
Address for correspondence: Andreas Mergenthaler, Federal Institute for Population Research, Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 4, 65185 Wiesbaden, Germany E-mail: andreas.mergenthaler@bib.bund.de
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Abstract

The phase of retirement has been steadily growing since the 1950s. Rules and regulations related to retirement have been changing. Recent cohorts have reached this phase in better health than previous ones. Until recently, retirement has been rather void of societal expectations, leaving room for individual decisions regarding amount and type of activity. Thus, investigating activity patterns displayed during this life phase, their predictors and outcomes seems overdue. The study addresses three questions: (a) Which distinct clusters of productive activities among retirees can be identified in Germany? (b) Do activity patterns of clusters follow complementary or substitutive composition rules? (c) Which are the most important predictors of cluster membership? Using probability-based sample data (N = 2,141) from the survey ‘Transitions and Old Age Potential’ (TOP), this study investigated clusters of productive activities among retirees aged 60–70 years in Germany. The activities examined included paid work after retirement, formal and informal volunteering, child care and care-giving. Results showed a four-cluster structure. The clusters (Multiple Engagers, Volunteers, Family Helpers and Family Disengagers) differed with regard to the composition and the intensity of productive activities. Both complementary and substitutive relations were identified within clusters. Individual, familial and economic resources were predictors of cluster membership. Results are discussed with regard to role theory, cumulative inequality theory and the ongoing debate about old-age potential.

Keywords

productive ageingretirementpaid work after retirementvolunteeringinformal helpcluster analysisrole theorycumulative inequality theory
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 39 , Issue 6 , June 2019 , pp. 1122 - 1151
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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