Transitions : A Woman's Guide to a Successful Retirement

A practical guide to help women identify their needs and concerns as retirement nears, and offers case studies of successful retirements

The special problems that working women face when they retire and various possibilities open to them are examined here in authoritative, constructive detail. Psychotherapist Cort-Van Arsdale and Newman, her retired psychologist sister, both married with grown children, contend that many of the first generation of liberated women whom they interviewed have not sufficiently planned a retirement that will meet individual practical and emotional needs. The authors stress the importance for women of considering the strength of their attachment to family and of their funds should they decide to relocate, say, to a warm climate; and, for those married, the effect of a husband's constant presence. Among options discussed to structure one's leisure hours are part-time paid or volunteer work, social groups, adult education and remarriage. Retirement, readers are wisely reminded, should not be viewed as a backdrop to old age.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The first generation of women who were influenced by the feminist movement are now looking forward to retirement. The authors, both mental health specialists involved with women's issues, found that the movement has not addressed retirement; and most materials now available on retirement planning focus on couples and give little direction to the woman considering a nontraditional lifestyle. Using a series of open-ended questionnaires, derived from the authors' retirement discussion groups, this book should help women evaluate events, relationships, and values that will enable them to make decisions about retirement living. Excerpts, at times lengthy, from women who responded to the questions emphasize the social and personal issues rather than the economic aspects of retirement. This is not a traditional retirement planner but a thoughtful look at the "priorities, options, and opportunities of this important phase in life."-- Karen McNally Bensing, Benjamin Rose Inst. Lib., Cleveland
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.