In order to understand the timing and nature of retirement we need to place the transition of retirement into the wider context of trajectories in the life course and consider a set of an individual’s personal experiences and circumstances. Of particular salience are (i) health (physical and mental); (ii) amount of financial capital; (iii) employment history and current working status; (iv) home ownership; (v) family composition (including children and marital/partnership status); (vi) dependents (both younger and older); (vii) level of education (and qualifications); and (vii) social networks, including key friendships. However, the three major themes, or factors, that emerged from the 36 interviews in the wider study were the first three of these themes: health, finance and work, and we therefore pay particular focus to these three.

The analysis shows how we apply some of the main paradigmatic features of the life course in order to develop our understandings about how individuals from the working poor feel, and make choices and decisions about, retirement. As so much data about transitions is either missing, or remains too speculative, the headings we use to organise our discussion are: (employment) trajectories; turning points; key people and linked lives; and agency.

Employment Trajectories

In this section we focus on the interviewees’ working trajectories, as we argue their attachment to work has been a central part of, and helped to structure and organise, their lives (Henretta 2003). Two interviewees had left school before the age of 18, and three had either a few relatively low, or no, academic qualifications, which has had repercussions in their later lives, and will have in their future years of retirement. Monty is the exception, although he only used his academic qualifications in his first job as a teacher and they have had no bearing on his subsequent career choices: he has learned new skills informally as and when he has needed to. Moreover, perhaps a lack of family cultural capital and particular class-based aspirations, meant that three began their working trajectories either, in the case of Ian, working in heavy industry, or for the two women, in relatively low skilled and low paid professions. Family traditions may have also played a part and, for instance, Ian’s father and grandfather had both worked in the steel industry. Gillian is the only one to have worked exclusively in the private sector: she now has four jobs (two of in which she is self-employed) in order to generate a satisfactory income to cover her life style; Ian has had only two working trajectories – working in the, then, state run, steel industry, and now as a bus driver - while Belinda left school early to become a chef, then became a TA and, more recently, a gymnastics instructor. Monty has had a very varied career and been mostly self-employed, including his current job. Ian is the only one to substantially benefit from a work-based pension and, although Gillian had invested in a small amount in shares and had recently begun to pay into a private scheme, the returns are likely to be negligible by the time she reaches SPA. Belinda’s main job as TA is in the public sector has also given her a small work-based pension, while Monty’s main and regular source of income comes from his second property.

Turning Points

We can see that all four have experienced key events and turning points that have disrupted their lives and have either had profound consequences in the succeeding years or, in the case of Belinda, have the potential to do so in the future. These events have involved relationships with key people, while the most recent turning point for Belinda is health related, and for Ian and Monty, turning points in the past have involved the mortality of a person very close to them. As we will see below, some of these turning points can have positive, as well as negative, consequences and repercussions over a longer time-span.

It is more difficult to speculate what the turning points have been for Gillian, but with the ability of hindsight, and the chance to look back over her life, it would seem that her life changed when her partner, and father of her child, left her. However, the consequences of this action did not become apparent until later, as Gillian has needed to continue to live in insecure rented accommodation and has not been able to save money. However, in some ways, it seems to have made her become more determined to succeed, be more independent, and become more content.

Ian has experienced some devastating events which became turning points. However, because of this adversity, his mother was afforded the opportunity to live with him as a replacement mother-figure and help bring up his two children; it also forced him to search for new employment and find a new career, which he finds far more fulfilling. Another turning point may come from him taking his work-based pension, which has given him greater financial stability, and given him the opportunity to consider whether he wants to reduce his hours of work, and possibly continue working beyond SPA.

Because we are able to see the consequences on Belinda’s life of the divorce from her husband we can be more confident in calling it a turning point – she told us that the divorce made her become more financially autonomous and so, as with Gillian, there were some positive as well as more negative outcomes of this event. However, we would need more time to know whether meeting her new partner will become a turning point, but although she was not currently living with him, this relationship has the potential to become one. We can be more certain that Belinda’s hip injury is a turning point as it has already disrupted the quality of her life to a considerable degree and has made her reappraise her own aspirations and expectations. Although she would like to have the agency to decide to work part-time the decision may be forced upon her because of the state of her physical health, and this might also mean that she has to work beyond 66, even though this would be physically and mentally demanding. A turning point for Monty was certainly the death of his girlfriend, after which he reappraised his sexuality and came out as gay. Buying a flat has also proved a key event and given him a steady income stream, and also allowed him to experiment and take more risks in seeking out, and trying, other working directions.

Key people and linked lives

As we suggest above, turning points often involve key people. However, it can be difficult to tell whether an individual can, or should, be judged as being a key influence in a person’s life, and like turning points, we will often need time and the benefit of hindsight. Key people are also connected to the theme of linked lives. Both Gillian and Belinda spoke about having a network of close friends, or other relatives, and one or more of these may well have been, and still are, highly influential in their lives. Ian said he did not have any intimate friends but had created his life around his extended family, while Monty had his live-in partner.

There do not seem to have been any ‘standout’ key people for either Gillian or Belinda, although their former partners would have been key people at one stage of their lives, and their leaving had caused both to become more independent. It is easier to find key people in the life course of Ian: firstly, there was his mother, and then there has recently been his sister who, because of her job, was able to give him advice about taking his pension early. Key people in Monty’s life had been his girlfriend and, currently, Michael, who also provides him with an additional financial safety net. However, we can speculate that there have been many others, such as, perhaps, the person who introduced him to, or gave him an entrance, into DJing but there was no time to uncover them during the interview.

As far as life course theories of linked lives are concerned, none of the four at the time had dependents who were old or young. Only Monty co-habited with a partner, while the other threes’ children were grown up and independent. Gillian’s life was currently intertwined with her daughter and it appears that Belinda’s was beginning to be with her new partner.

Agency

Underpinning all of these themes is the concept of agency. If we consider the degree of agency each of these four individuals possess, and how much it is likely to affect the timing and nature of their retirement, we can see that the two men have the capacity to exercise most. The amount of potential agency each person has is affected by past and present key people and key events or turning points. For Ian, the increased stream of economic capital means that he is able to have more options, including being able to retire before SPA. Ian feels in control of his life and is working because he wants to. Monty, too, has more choices due to the reliable, albeit relatively small, income stream from his flat and, if it was necessary, from his partner. Even though Gillian enjoys working in her four jobs, she had less agency than the two men in that she is denied a choice of when to retire or to scale back her working commitments. Belinda also has less opportunities to exercise agency, or less control of her life, than Gillian or the two men, which was due to her debilitating hip injury and a lack of money, which means that part-time work was not a realistic option, however much she desired it. However, the degree of agency, and the repercussions, arising from this particular key event (and for the others) are affected by the resources a person is able to access (economically, socially, physically, emotionally) - which in turn is linked to her personality, habits and dispositions, which have been formed over the life course. Although Belinda has been offered by her new partner to move in with him she wishes to remain financially independent, and not be controlled as she was by her ex-husband, and thus she opts for greater personal agency at the expense of greater financial security. Her past experience of a marital relationship has affected her deeply and illustrates how people’s current plans and expectations are often based on past experience and future anticipations (Heinz et al. 2009).

We can also analyse further background factors and resources that can act as either positive or negative features in these people’s lives. In terms of the positive, we can see that Gillian has good health, the resources of a loving and supportive daughter and a wide network of friends, and she enjoyed her life both in and outside of work; Ian also has the resource of close family ties, he also enjoys working, and has additional financial resources; Belinda also enjoys her work, has the resource of a partner and good friends; while Monty has the personal resources of good health, a steady income, and a close partner, The negative factors are, for Gillian, her lack of money and the insecurity of living in private rented accommodation; for Ian, they are his relative poor health, but his lack of close friends seems to be overridden by his close family ties, and, unlike Gillian, his rented accommodation – from the local council - also seemed much more secure. As far as Belinda is concerned, the main two negative factors are her health and lack of economic capital, while Monty, has few factors which are obviously negative, hence his unbridled enjoyment and high level of life satisfaction.

Further Issues

Although each of the four cases represents a particular typology about approaching retirement, the narratives also highlight a number of issues and themes that, we argue, are likely to be particularly common for other people of this age from similarly disadvantaged economic backgrounds. They not only enrich our understanding but help us propose a series of hypotheses. In addition to retirement, we have categorised the themes under the headings of employment; poor qualifications; financial capital; general well-being; family and friends; health; and anxieties about the future.

Retirement

As far as retirement is concerned, one of the main conclusions from the quantitative research from (Author reference anonymised for review) study was that the working poor were the most likely group to anticipate they would be working at the age of 66. This was also the case for all four interviewees but qualitative data shows it is more complex. Like most people of this age, none had not made any firm plans for retirement, and they wanted to keep their options open and assess where they were at 66. Gillian and Belinda needed to work full-time (however, reluctantly in the case of Belinda) in order to remain financially solvent, while Ian probably would also continue working as long as he could reduce his hours and continue to enjoy his work, and Monty would definitely work as long as possible, although this was contingent on his health.

Employment

Working in the state sector (whether this be as a teaching assistant or in the steel industry) generally provides workers with greater security of tenure and the opportunity to begin paying into a work-based pension (Ian, and later Belinda), preferably as early as possible, which helps their financial well-being in old age. These data confirm that low skilled jobs are more likely to be lowly paid, and many people, like Gillian and Belinda, need to have more than one job. Having said this, all four people in this study enjoyed their work: they liked the routine and structure and social aspect, but we argue that many people are prepared and happy to work up to, and often beyond SPA, if they find their job rewarding and feel they can retain some control. Some would like to reduce their hours as they approach SPA but there can be a lack of part-time work and few employers offer opportunities for job-sharing. Poor qualifications: Three of the interviews showed that early decisions in the life course, such as leaving school with poor qualifications, may have later consequences: it limits employment opportunities and is more likely to result in individuals entering manual trades or taking work which is low-skilled and low paid. However, Monty’s case shows that there is not always a strong correlation between high level qualifications and employment and, apart from his first job as a teacher, Monty’s were largely irrelevant to his career trajectory. Financial capital: Working in these type of jobs makes it harder to be able to consistently put savings aside, and, for Gillian and Ian, this has meant that they have had to live in rented accommodation, which is also more insecure, particularly in the private rented sector. Saving is often more difficult for women: they are more likely to have spent a greater proportion of their time outside the labour market due to childcare commitments, and also earn less over their lifetime because more tend to work in part-time employment with reduced hours. As we have seen with Ian and Monty, money also tends to give people a greater chance to exercise agency. General well-being: Although Monty’s partner made his life both happier and more financially secure, life can be more difficult (particularly financially) if a person is single. However, this is not always the case and sometimes people (such as Gillian and Belinda) are more content not co-habiting. Some people are also happier after their divorce (Belinda) or after separating from their partner (Gillian). Even though the four need to live modestly, they have learned to live with few material possessions, are able organise their lives thriftily, and exist on relatively little income. As Gillian says, the most important things in life are health, a roof over one’s head, food on the table, a modest income stream, and close friends, including family. Family and friends: Friendships for some are important but other people, like Ian and Monty, are much more self-contained and can be content without a close network of friends, relying, instead, on family networks or a cohabiting partner. Parents can also be very supportive: often parents’ homes can provide a valuable source of income when they die, and people are lucky if their parents have this asset. Health: Good health is generally more important than money when it comes to contentment and if it deteriorates it can have a devastating repercussion on a person’ life, including on their employment. This can happen very quickly, as Belinda has found out. Anxieties: Like all of the other 36 participants, these four expressed worries about their future retirement, including growing older, and as the literature confirms (Centre of Ageing Better (2015)), most of these were concerned with health or finance and sometimes both. For Gillian, it is the need to maintain a consistent financial stream and she also felt extremely vulnerable in her accommodation, which she might be asked to leave at short notice. The greatest concern for the two men is their physical health, particularly for Ian, even though it was not a particular issue at the time of interview, while Belinda has both physical health concerns and money worries.