To retire or not to retire? Everyone grows up dreaming of being rich, successful, and happy. Throughout life, we go through a process similar to that of many of our peers. We go to school and eventually get a job. Hopefully the career path that is chosen is one that fulfills the needs and wants of whomever made the decision. We spend some time working on our career, and focusing on advancing and increasing our success, but what happens when the drive is no longer there? What if you feel that you have had enough success to last you a lifetime, and now you want to enjoy the other aspects of life? How do you decide if it is time to retire? Will it be beneficial or detrimental to your health? It is often thought that retirement coincides with a decline in health and functioning for older adults, but this is actually not the case. Several studies show that individuals over the age of 60 have better mental health than those still working at the same age. Other studies have shown that men over the age of 65 have poorer health after retirement, but these can be attributable to other factors, such as the effects of aging, that often cause misconceptions to the untrained eye (Robinson, Demetre, Corney 2011).

In most of the studies conducted the retired person self defines whether they are retired or not. Along with this self-determination, the retired person is also asked whether they voluntarily retired, or were unwillingly forced into retirement. A sense of choice and voluntary control over retirement is a welldefined and stout indicator of how happy and satisfied a person is with their retirement (Robinson, Demetre, Corney 2011). When an individual chooses to retire it is frequently associated to positive well-being and an optimistic outlook on retirement. For women especially, a forced or abrupt retirement leads to depressive symptoms (Dave, College 2007). A person's decision to retire is affected by a number of factors. Among these factors is their health insurance; some of the health insurance companies will not permit older people enough assistance with their medical endeavors. Social security (a government program designed to give monetary help to retired persons, the unemployed, and the disabled) eligibility is a big determining factor for those retirees who have not saved up an adequate amount to retire comfortably. Retirees do stress about the luxury of their retirement and how much financial assets they have saved up. This is a reason why retirees in lower class levels have less of a positive link with retirement. Stress diminishes both mental and physical health. However, if a person is more financially stable, then social security is less of a concern. Possibly the biggest factor is health status and the health status of their spouse

or significant other. Health problems influence the retirement behavior more strongly than economic factors (Dave, College 2007). Retirement is characterized by three different stages: preparation, workerretiree transition, and adjusting to retirement. Preparation is one of the main contributing factors to whether or not a retired person is satisfied with their retirement. A far higher proportion of those who voluntarily retired were given effective retirement guidance. The preparation courses teach the "students" how to financially prepare for retirement so that they can live comfortably and without worry. Many people try to dodge these courses for fear of retirement because it is such a big transition, but often times the dodgers are the ones who need the most help. The worker-retiree transition is one that can be positive or negative depending on the person's personality and circumstances of retirement. On the positive side retirement can be described by freedom from obligations, time pressures and restraints. However, negatively effected retirees may characterize retirement as loss of social connections and a loss of identity (Robinson, Demetre, Corney 2011). In order for retirees