Is it time to revisit Robert Atchley’s 7 phases of retirement?
It most certainly is. It’s been 50 years since sociologist/gerontologist, Robert Atchley, wrote the now famous 7 Phases of Retirement, which, somewhere along the line, was pared-down to the 6 Phases of Retirement, but who’s counting? The fact is, almost any socio-economic, socio-cultural, or socio-ecological principle needs revisiting from time-to-time.
And that’s what’s great about these types of opinions. You can agree with them, disagree, give them your own spin, or even bring them up-to-date.
As a refresher, here are Atchley’s phases of retirement:
- Far Away
- Pre-Retirement
- Honeymoon
- Disappointment
- Reorientation
- Stability
- And the Terminal Phase
Not many people disagree with Atchley’s findings about phases 1 and 7. That’s just the way the world goes ‘round. But the common theme seems to be, if there is one, is that it’s pretty tough-sledding to group and categorize nearly 60 million people into five different classifications all within a certain hierarchy.
In fact, it’s probably best if we viewed this not so much in a type of taxonomy that tells us what to expect as we move through retirement as if it was checkpoint in some sort of amazing race, but more as a heads-up of what might happen to you at any given time, what might never happen to you (excluding phases 1 and 7), or the notion that we shouldn’t be surprised if one or two of these occurrences take root, but not necessarily in the order Atchley listed.
We’ll never really know Atchley’s take on that, but it’s probably best if we use this as a roadmap, say, for instance, around Chicago where we can choose to visit the Museum Campus, the Art Institute, and Mr. Beef, but not the 175 other suggested stops along the way.
All-in-all, it’s still a pretty viable heads-up of what could happen to you in retirement. Maybe you will feel euphoric for a time, and maybe that will wear-off and lead to disappointment. And maybe you’ll be able recalibrate and find some newfound stability and peace.
Or maybe not.
Perhaps that’s what Atchley was shooting for all along. Give them enough insight to help them from getting hopelessly lost, but not so much insight as to prevent them from finding their way.
