Title: The second innings: a phenomenological exploration of the retirement experience among urban Indians

Authors: Manasa Narayan; Richa Awasthy

Addresses: SBI Payments, 1st Floor, Madhuli Building, Shiv Sagar Estate, Worli, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400018, India ' School of Business, Public Policy and Social Entrepreneurship (SBPPSE), Ambedkar University Delhi, Lothian Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006, India

Abstract: This phenomenological study seeks to explore the life experiences of the participants to gain a holistic understanding of retirement transition in the urban Indian context. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 individuals within a period of five years of retirement. Seven emergent themes: 1) preparation preceding retirement; 2) retirement as a process; 3) significant changes; 4) role of family; 5) religion and spirituality; 6) gender variation in retirement; 7) opinions on retirement based on the adage 60-is-the-new-40. The unique contribution of this study lies in describing retirement as an opportunity to pursue a path of spirituality to achieve self-discovery largely by surrendering to God and discuss role of spirituality in resolving conflict in eighth stage of Erikson between ego integrity and despair. The study explained the significance of Bronfenbrenner's ecological model to highlight the interactions between an individual and its environment in retirement experience.

Keywords: retiree; retirement; aging; phenomenology; India; spirituality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJICBM.2023.134245

International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 2023 Vol.30 No.2, pp.246 - 272

Received: 07 Apr 2022
Accepted: 21 Jun 2022
Published online: 14 Oct 2023 *

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