Gender, Relationship Status, and Return to Work Post-Retirement

What is it about?

This study is linked with concerns with population aging. It is also linked with the extensively varied present-day workforce participation patterns of older individuals. We examine factors associated with return to work post-retirement, with a focus on the interaction between gender and relationship status, among Canadians aged 50 to 74 who had retired at least once. We find that although being in a relationship is associated with a higher likelihood of post-retirement work for men, the opposite is true for women. We explain how our findings arise partly from the gendered associations between relationship status and one’s motivation for learning and community involvement, career orientation, and sense of independence. Gendered meanings of relationship status are thus revealed through analysis of post-retirement work.

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