Retirement Social Network

When most hear the word “retirement” they dream of what it will look like. Future retirees talk about vacations, relaxing, and taking time to complete jobs they never had time to finish when they worked full-time. Some others may have some financial fears, thinking that they may never be ready; how much is enough? Whatever you think retirement is there are some realities. Since a person can only take so many vacations, eventually you need to determine how to spend your time at home and in your community. This book will provide you a guide to assist you in retirement and ensure your later years have social activities and opportunities to develop relationships within your community. Aspects covered in this book include preventing social isolation, creating social opportunities, and recreation at any age.

When most hear the word “retirement” they dream of what it will look like. Future retirees talk about vacations, relaxing, and taking time to complete jobs they never had time to finish when they worked full-time. Some others may have some financial fears, thinking that they may never be ready; how much is enough? Whatever you think retirement is there are some realities. Since a person can only take so many vacations, eventually you need to determine how to spend your time at home and in your community. This book will provide you a guide to assist you in retirement and ensure your later years have social activities and opportunities to develop relationships within your community. Aspects covered in this book include preventing social isolation, creating social opportunities, and recreation at any age.

Retirees who idle their time away also report that they miss work. They miss the “built in” social network they had as well as the structure and self-worth they experienced when they did a good job.What sets this book apart from other books is that it offers a step-by-step set of quick and easy, yet comprehensive, tools to help you develop a plan so you won't waste this special gift you've been given, “retirement.” You will learn how to replace the things you miss about work and how you can achieve a satisfying and fulfilling retirement. The process and tools will help you:1. Create a Focus: Discover what matters to you…what you like to do…what you would like to focus on.2. Identify Retirement Paths: Discover the 3 or 4 areas where you would like to spend the majority of your time that will lead to a satisfying and fulfilling retirement.3. Identify Activities4. Track Progress5. Monitor Success

For students, researchers, and practitioners in such fields as gerontology, industrial and organizational psychology, and human resources management, contributors from those fields synthesize the current literature on retirement and suggest areas for future research and practice. The sections cover before retirement, deciding to retire, and after retirement. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Social scientists use the term social integration to refer to individuals' connections with others in their environments. The concept and its consequences have been the subject of considerable study. Many researchers have asserted that meaningful and enduring ties to other persons serve as a buffer against stress, and thereby promote physical and mental health. The results are especially pronounced for older persons. Social Integration in the Second Half of Life presents integrative reviews of theory and research on this topic. The editors and contributors, all currently or previously affiliated with the Cornell Gerontology Research Institute, also present new empirical findings of research done at their center. The first section of the book discusses basic theory and principles of social integration in later life and its implications for health. The second, largest section examines specific issues: retirement, driving, family support, housing, neighbors. The third section addresses interventions to promote social integration: transportation, volunteering, and peer support for dementia caregivers. Throughout, the authors focus on the diverging influences of social integration and its converse, social isolation, in later life.

Deciding when and how to retire are among the most important decisions most people make. Can they be depended on to plan with foresight and make sound decisions? According to standard economic analysis the answer is a qualified "yes." But studies by psychologists, sociologists, and economists themselves raise doubts about this comforting appraisal. This volume by analysts trained in economics and other disciplines suggests that retirement planning and decisions fall far short of the rational ideal. Gary Burtless explains what economic research has to say about retirement behavior. Annamaria Lusardi reports that many people in their fifties and older say they have not even thought about retirement. Mathey Rabin and Ted O'Donoghue show that procrastination can cause huge economic losses. Robert Axtell and Joshua Epstein show that herd behavior explains observed patterns of retirement behavior better than does the assumption of rational decisionmaking. George Loewenstein, Drazen Prelec, and Roberto Weber report that many people incorrectly anticipate what retirement will be like and rationalize whatever decision they have made. David Fetherstonhaugh and Lee Ross report experimental evidence that the effect of Social Security provisions may depend on how these policies are "framed" as well as on the specific content of those policies. These and other authors also explore the broader implications of these behavioral patterns. Copublished with Russell Sage Foundation

Evidence from both local and national surveys suggests that substance misuse and abuse among older adults in the United States is a "hidden epidemic" that poses a major threat to the welfare and quality of life of older drinkers and their families, and has significant public health implications. Based on their findings from a 10-year, NIH-funded study of retirement, aging, and substance misuse, Peter Bamberger and Samuel Bacharach examine the complex web of factors contributing to the precipitation and exacerbation of substance problems among older adults. They discuss the individual and public health implications of such problems, as well as some of the evidence-based steps that may be taken to prevent their emergence and help those in need of assistance for policy-makers and health practitioners. This book provides a single-source review of the latest research assessing the magnitude and costs of older-adult substance abuse, as well as detailed analysis of the epidemiology of older-adult substance abuse. The authors provide an analysis of the efficacy of alternative prevention and treatment strategies, and present scientific evidence in a user-friendly format, highlighting extensive interview data to accompany their statistical results. The illustrations offered by these real life cases not only provide a sense of richness and understanding to a complex issue, but also offer a fitting reminder to the reader that this is an issue affecting people we know and families like our own.