Migration and the life course: is there a retirement transition?

This paper focuses on pre-elderly (ages 55–64) net migration in the United States for the period 1980–90, to explore the hypothesis that there exists a ‘retirement transition’ that characterizes pre-elderly migration. While previous research has demonstrated variation in migration patterns over the life course, these studies generally imply that both migration motivations and destinations change abruptly at age 65. Little effort has been made to explore the migration behaviour of the pre-elderly as distinct from that of either younger or older age groups. This research uses ordinary least squares regression to compare the effects of demographic, economic, and amenity factors on county-level net migration rates for five age groups: the young (25–44), the middle-aged (45–54), the pre-elderly (55–64), the young-old (65–74), and the old-old (75+). Pre-elderly migration patterns emerge as distinct from those of both younger and older age groups. Their net migration patterns are not fully shaped by labour force considerations. At the same time, pre-elderly migration appears to be driven by factors beyond retirement. These findings are discussed in the context of life-course change and their implications for the ageing baby-boom cohorts. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.