Frisk, aktiv och välbärgad? Om livet som nybliven penionär i Simrishamn

The mass media and popular science launch the idea that the generation that is retiring now, that is people born in the 1940s, is different from previous generations. The templates for ageing are no longer considered applicable. Pensioners are expected to make completely new and higher demands on life. They are presumed to be healthy, active and well-off. Österlen is often described as a place in which it is possible to attain a particularly high quality of life. Many people choose to move to the municipality of Simrishamn when they retire. Perhaps the move is a way of satisfying the high demands expected of the 1940s generation, in terms of life content? This report investigates how this ideal image relates to reality for new pensioners in Simrishamn. Their experiences and adventures form the basis for a discussion of what characterises a good life and what strategies are used to achieve it. How do they relate to the opposite of the ideal: failing health, financial difficulties and involuntary passivity? The study builds on in-depth interviews with five people who moved to Simrishamn and who define themselves as healthy, active and well off. An important analytical approach is the relationship between age, class and gender