Retirement: strengths and weaknesses for a full and healthy old age

Retirement is a coveted goal for working people. Although it is seen as a period of relaxation and tranquillity, retirement from work, also because it is associated with other relevant changes in an individual’s life related to family relationships, brings with it a number of potential risks that may trigger problems of a psychosocial nature (identity crisis, change of parental role, adaptation to new marital relationships, possible marital crisis and divorce, depressive symptoms and suicidal ideas) which, in turn, may be facilitators of fragility also on the physical side. The attention of the various governments is generally focused on the health problems of those who are retired with a view to containing public expenditure, without considering the fact that the main problems for this particular segment of the population may come from problems of reintegration into social life and occupation of leisure time. When there is no adequate adaptation to the changed conditions of life in the transition from worker to pensioner one fatally exposes oneself to the risk of progressive isolation. the reduction of social contracts, the contraction of the use of one’s cognitive functions with possible consequences in the medium to long term on one’s ability to remain self-sufficient. This would ultimately turn into a socio-medical problem, with the associated costs, when an appropriate policy of psycho-social interventions could delay the effects.