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In an aging work society, the transition to retirement represents a crucial passage in status for older adults. The conditions and the forms of the age-related status transition have changed substantially in Germany over recent decades. Thus, in addition to "indirect" retirement paths from various forms of non-employment, there is an increasing tendency to continue paid work beyond the regular retirement age limit. Moreover, older adults volunteer in civil society and are engaged within the family after retirement. These activities, together with prolonged labor market participation, form a central dimension of old age potential that can be a societal as well as an individual benefit. The aim of this paper is to review the current state of research, provide an overview of basic concepts as well as to advance the discourse on the transition to retirement and the potential of older people in Germany. One focus is on the labor market participation of older adults, even beyond the legal retirement age limit. In addition, we emphasize the interaction between different productive activities with regard to complementary or substitute relationships. These considerations are united in the concept of unretirement, which complements the traditional concept of retirement. A modified Rubicon model of action is presented as a heuristic framework for further empirical research on the labor market participation of older adults.

The follow-up survey for the Transitions and Old Age Potential (TOP) study took place from November 2015 until February 2016. Of the 3,897 the willing respondents from the first wave of 2013, three years later interviews were completed with 2,501 persons. In content, the second wave of TOP focuses on the transitions to retirement, the realization of activity intentions, particularly on the labor market, as part of a multi-stage model of action as well as on the changes in the potentials of older adults over the course of time. Like the first wave, the follow-up survey was also conducted by the Umfragezentrum Bonn (uzbonn) on behalf of the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB). In addition to measures for reducing the bias from panel mortality and for increasing coverage, longitudinal weighting methods were used that, among other aspects, adjusted for selective response probabilities in the second wave.

Im Auftrag des Bundesinstituts für Bevölkerungsforschung (BiB) in Wiesbaden führte das Umfragezentrum Bonn (uzbonn) im ersten Quartal 2013 eine Befragung zu den Übergängen in den Ruhestand und den Potenzialen der 55- bis 70-Jährigen am Arbeitsmarkt sowie in der Zivilgesellschaft und der Familie durch. Hierzu wurde eine für die deutschsprachige Wohnbevölkerung in dieser Altersgruppe repräsentative Festnetzstichprobe nach dem Gabler-Häder-Design gezogen und mittels CATI-Verfahren telefonisch befragt. Den Interviews lag ein standardisiertes Erhebungsinstrument zugrunde, das in Zusammenarbeit mit Kooperationspartnern aus unterschiedlichen Disziplinen (unter anderen Psychologie, Gerontologie, Wirtschaftswissenschaften) entwickelt wurde. Die durchschnittliche Länge der Interviews betrug 40 Minuten. Insgesamt wurden 5.002 Personen befragt.