Support Networks Before and after Retirement

Abstract

Changes in one's personal network can be expected to follow after retirement. A certain loss of relationships, for example with colleagues, is inevitable. How do people who are either about to retire or have recently done so react to this life event? Do they form new relationships or deepen their existing ones? Which type of relationships are most likely to be terminated? Is over benefiting or under benefiting in support a significant aspect in the termination of relationships? This article addresses these questions on how retirement affects support networks. The data were obtained from 50 men, interviewed before and after retirement. At T₂ approximately a third of the personal relationships were no longer part of the network. The average size of the networks had not changed. A larger proportion of network members was unemployed and most of the relationships with colleagues were terminated. The relationships were evaluated as being more pleasant and the frequency of the contact was higher. On average, the relationships at T₂ were with older persons and tended to be more frequently with an acquaintance than those at T₁. More exchanges were carried out at T₂ than at T₁. They were mainly exchanges in which support was given by the respondents to network members, so that there was a small reduction in the overall reciprocity. The results confirm the hypothesis concerning the significance of reciprocity for the stability of exchange relationships.