Retiring: Role identity processes in retirement transition

Summary Retirement transition has become a prolonged process of adaptation, including changes in role identity. However, there is a dearth of research on the process by which retirees cope with the role transition, including how pre‐retirement role identities shape the transition, the forms of identity work undertaken by retirees, and the unfolding nature of retirement transition. In an in‐depth qualitative examination of the transition process, we identify pre‐retirement role identity profiles based on work and nonwork role identities. We then examine how pre‐retirement role identities influence the transition process, including the nature of identity work in transition and the transition pathways demonstrated by retirees. Our findings provide insights into strengths and limitations afforded by pre‐retirement identities: They facilitate agentic coping in which retirees shed old and adopt new identities but also impose inertia and prolong the transition until identity crises force the retirees to undergo identity exploration and adoption of new identities.