Adjusting to changes caused by transition fromwork to retirement: experiences of elderly people

Transition from work to retirement, being a part of the ongoingdevelopment in the life course, is a stage, when the ease of adjustment depends on social and personal resources that retire eshave as well as supportive environment during the retirement process. The achieved balance in all spheres of life after transition period to retirement is a key predictor of well-being in later life. The qualitative research study is represented in this article. The authors of the study investigated experiences of adjustment process to changes caused by transition from work to retirement which are reflected and perceived by elderly people. The analysis of the data revealed that quality of adjustment to changes caused by transition from work to retirement depends on self-reported health status, financial well-being, social network, for malant in formal competiences and on sense of personal control. Past life’s priorities and preferences are the key components in constructing the aspects of social services improvement as experiences of elderly people revealed. The researchis consistent with interpretive-constructivist ontology. According to it the truth is subjective and social phenomenons are socially constructed by individuals in a particular society and culture. The research is under pinned by the subjectivist-interpreting epistemology as the results are interpreted and based only on the authentic experiences of the research participants. The research is also consistent with a life course perspective position: transition to retirement, as a life period, is accompanied by attention to the life course as a whole, trying to identify factors that influence transition to retirement and later-life trajectory. Ten retirees took part in the research. The outcomes of the research were analized according to qualitative content analysis strategy