NEW PENSIONERS AND THE SURROUNDING SOCIAL REALITY. THE EXPERIENCE OF RETIRING IN POLAND

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of retirement in contemporary Polish society. The analysis is based on a qualitative research project conducted with people who had formally retired within the previous five years. The process of retiring is one of the most important turning points in the life course. The aim is to look more carefully at the experience of the initial years of retirement and the process of adjustment to a new social status. The article seeks to answer questions regarding how new pensioners comprehend and function in the current social and institutional settings, in particular how they perceive the process of changes and rebuild their relations with the younger generations.

Keywords

• new pensioners, retirement
• ageing
• Polish society
• postfigurative culture