Paradigms of retirement: the importance of health and ageing in the whitehall ii study

This paper evaluates four well established sociological theories of ageing using qualitative data from the British Whitehall II study. We attempt to apply the theories to contemporary retirement and through each theory examine the issue of health in retirement. The effect of lowered income in retirement is discussed in relation to Townsendʹs theory of structured dependency. Change in participantʹs health following retirement is examined in respect of the theory of disengagement by Cumming and Henry, adjustment to retirement in relation to Laslettʹs theory of the third age. Parsonʹs role theory is used to examine how social interactions and relationships change for people who have recently retired. We discuss the need for a multifaceted theory of ageing which can accommodate the continually changing experience and age of retirement. We analysed interviews conducted with 25 male and female civil servants aged between 55 and 63 years, from different grades who had been retired for less than 2 years.