Navigating the Decades: Retirement and Expectations

In this chapter, we review the phases of life that relate to what older adults experience: retirement, role changes, legacy, connection and loneliness, and bridges with values and tradition. We also explore assimilation of race, culture, and religion and how older interracial and intercultural couples move through them interpersonally and intrapersonally, as well as through community and the greater society. The central theme of this chapter is to highlight the need to honor differences as avenues of connection, provide support in the creation of mutual traditions, and create a new mutual language around legacy.