A retirement mobilities approach to transnational ageing

Abstract

Transnational ageing processes are usually studied by focusing on the various cross-border practices and mobilities of different categories of ageing migrants. This paper introduces a retirement mobilities approach as an analytical framework that draws on both transnational studies and the new mobilities paradigm to widen the theoretical and empirical debates. It argues that both migrant and non-migrant populations, as well as human and non-human cross-border circulations, have to be taken into account when studying transnational ageing. Based on a mixed-methods study combining original data from a quantitative survey conducted in Switzerland with residents 55+ and semi-structured interviews held in Spain and Switzerland with older adults receiving a Swiss pension, we demonstrate the heuristic value of this approach. Indeed, empirical findings indicate that older adults with and without a migration background represent an internationally mobile population with similar mobility aspirations and transnational lifestyles. However, the motivations driving these two groups’ transnational mobility differ significantly. Moreover, transnational circulations of financial resources, and in particular retirement pensions, are interlinked with mobility in old age. To conclude, a retirement mobilities approach sets a new research agenda, inviting scholars to examine transnational ageing beyond the ageing-migration nexus.

Keywords:

• Transnational ageing
• retirement mobilities
• transnational lifestyle
• mixed-methods
• ageing migrants
• Switzerland
• Spain

Notes

1 Spain has been selected as a case study because it is both an important country of origin of former labour migrants (Bolzman and Bridji 2019), and one of the main destination countries for older Swiss citizens living abroad (FDFA 2020).

2 A widely used definition of a migrant is the one formulated by the International Organisation of Migration, i.e. a person who permanently or temporarily moves away from his/her usual country of residence (for more information: https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/iml_34_glossary.pdf [16.12.2022]).

3 We chose the duration of three months because many countries consider this period as a tourist stay, while longer stays require a visa.

Additional information

Funding

The work of Mihaela Nedelcu, Livia Tomás, and Laura Ravazzini was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (51NF40-182897), through the NCCR-on the move (project IP33 ‘Transnational Ageing’). The work of Liliana Azevedo was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, which conceded her a doctoral fellowship (Reference SFRH/BD/128722/2017) and hosted by ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Centro de Investigação e Estudos de Sociologia, Lisboa, Portugal.