Partners' Health and Retirement Adaptation of Women and Their Husbands

Abstract

This study is unique in that it concerns the adaptation to retirement of women and their husbands, where both partners are retired. Among the 61 mutually retired spousal pairs studied a person's own health and the family's finances were less important to adaptation than the adjustment to retirement of his or her respective spouse. For retired wives their own higher education also aided adjustment. For retired husbands their retired wives' lower education was salient. The emergence of the retired wife as a key figure in the adaptation of the marital dyad is consistent- with the theoretical perspective that women have a more dominant role in their later years.