Abstract
In their thought-provoking book Retirement Migration and Precarity in Later Life, Marion Repetti and Toni Calasanti delve into the complex interplay between retirement migration and precarity experienced by older adults. Published in 2023, the book offers a comprehensive exploration of the challenges faced by retirees who relocate, often in pursuit of better living conditions or financial stability. Through clear and comprehensive research, compelling case studies, and insightful analysis, the authors provide a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted nature of retirement migration and its implications for individual well-being and societal structure. The reader gains insight into the challenges faced by older migrants through long blocks of direct quotes from interview transcripts. This is another one of the strengths of the book and one that makes its contribution to the literature all the more significant.
The book begins by contextualizing retirement migration within the broader landscape of aging and mobility. While still a relatively nascent area of migration studies, retirement migration research has been growing over the past twenty years. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and surveys conducted in Spain, Mexico, and Costa Rica, Repetti and Calasanti explore the motivations driving retirees to relocate and in doing so illustrate how factors such as climate, cost of living, proximity to family, and access to health care influence older migrants’ decisions. While these are not necessarily novel factors in retirement migration literature, the authors do a good job of framing their findings in the field of “multifaceted phenomena shaped by a complex interplay of individual preferences, structural constraints, and socio-economic factors” (p. 23). The book highlights the heterogeneity of retirement migrant communities themselves, challenging stereotypes and emphasizing the diversity of experiences within this population.
Migration studies must tend to both the individual and structural factors at play in the movement patterns of people. Repetti and Calasanti do this very well, emphasizing the importance of understanding retirement migration as a dynamic process shaped by intersecting factors such as gender, race, class, and health status. They begin, however, by recognizing that certain historical post-World War II conditions have improved later life for many. Along with increased life expectancy and better health, post-war prosperity and an expansion of retirement pension programs during the second half of the twentieth century bolstered the material conditions of many older people today. In Europe and in North America in particular, banking and other policies enabled a generation of adults easier access to buying homes, meaning that more retirees can now leverage that investment by reselling at a profit to help fund their retirement. However, not all retirees find themselves in a secure position later in life.
One of the key strengths of the book lies in its nuanced examination of the concept of precarity and its relevance to the experiences of older adults. Repetti and Calasanti highlight how for some, international migration is a liberating act, but for others, especially those facing economic hardship or social isolation, it can exacerbate feelings of uncertainty and vulnerability. But the authors take things further and make a convincing argument that we must pay more attention to structural ageism and its inherent devaluing of older people’s lives. Their data highlight how the risk of social exclusion for retirees is linked to ageism and further exacerbates a sense of precarity for many. The authors argue that while avoiding ageism and social exclusion were not given as primary reasons for migrating, retirees did find that they experienced a higher degree of social connectedness, visibility, acceptance, and freedom in their receiving countries, which, in turn, made them realize how much they had internalized ageism in their home countries. Most of the interviewees lived among other international retirement migrants in places like Mexico, Costa Rica, and Spain, where they created communities of international retirees on whom they could depend for practical and social support. These new connections helped mitigate the very real dilemma of “leaving behind established social networks in pursuit of a better quality of life elsewhere . . . [a decision] often fraught with emotional complexities and trade-offs” (p. 112).
Repetti and Calasanti do not shy away from somewhat darker sides of the world of retirement migration. Many retirees praised the excellent medical care they received in their new home country. While affordability was most important, many praised the “kindness, attention and concern” of the medical staff (p. 108) and contrasted it to the expensive, rushed, and impersonal care they had received in their native country. Interviewees repeatedly attributed the empathetic care they received locally to characteristics inherent in the culture. In fact, some argued that local women performed caregiving work “out of ‘love’” rather than because they were skilled professionals. Their kindness, tendency not to complain about care work, and deference shown to the international migrants they care for was seen as a valued trait of women in many countries in the global South and one, the authors argue, that might help retirees mentally justify paying them low wages.
In one particularly powerful chapter, the authors carefully highlight the entangled strands of socio-economic history and global inequality that create the foundation for transnational citizenship on which so many North-to-South migrants rely. Despite relative precarity back home, many retired migrants end up living a privileged life. This is where Repetti and Calasanti uncover “the tensions between inclusion and exploitation” and how those tensions continue to reflect “global structures of domination” (p. 96). Readers are invited to ask themselves whether the lack of ageism international retirement migrants say characterizes places like Spain, Mexico, and Costa Rica is actually due to greater respect for older people or whether it is due to entrenched colonial inequities. While the authors say that interviewees rarely spoke directly about the power imbalance between themselves and locals, the data they present speaks for itself. Like other research on retirement migration, we witness a subtle complicity in older migrants appreciating what might seem to be the natural order of things without recognizing, or while ignoring, how a historic imbalance has allowed them to turn their own precarity into privilege.
Despite the symbolic and structural power international migrants have, Repetti and Calasanti remind us that both precarity and power are dynamic. Even the retirees who were living comfortably often expressed anxiety and fear about how their situation could change at any moment. This was made all too clear by the Brexit vote in 2016, which the authors say had not yet affected their research participants but would surely affect the landscape for British retirees living in Europe very soon. In this light, Repetti and Calasanti offer valuable insights into the role of policy and governance in addressing the challenges of retirement migration and precarity. Through comparative analysis and policy recommendations, they advocate for reforms that prioritize social inclusion, affordable housing, and accessible health care for all retirees.
By advocating for policy reforms grounded in social justice principles, Repetti and Calasanti make a compelling case for a more equitable approach to aging and migration. This book would be appreciated by scholars, policymakers, and anyone interested in the complexities of aging and migration in contemporary society.