He's been heading out to his job as a high school basketball coach for just as many years. Traditionally, this is the way we know retirement. The sandwich generation, those who take care of children and parents concurrently, however, may be spending their retirement years a little differently. According to Radford University social work instructor Jane Roberts, the adjustment to a change in roles and household activities does not have to rattle the nerves of a happily married couple. While Roberts believes that current trends reveal it's less likely that couples are living out the fairy tale of spending more time with the grandkids, sitting on their front porches and traveling the world, it still can be an exciting time in a couple's life.
Retirement can be very rewarding and fulfilling for a couple.
Those who have identified themselves with the job or have held their jobs in high esteem and part of their identity, find it harder to retire. It doesn't matter if they're a blue or white collar worker and it doesn't matter if they were a traditional mom and housewife. They were a part of something for a long time. It's going to be hard to sit down and do nothing. In all likelihood, today's retiring couples aren't sitting around staring at one another, Roberts says.