Quaderni IRCrES 27 – Capitolo 5
Capitolo 5
Famiglie che guidano, legami che pesano. Reti relazionali, aspettative e benessere nella transizione verso la pensione*
Families that guide, ties that weigh. Relational networks, expectations and well-being in the transition to retirement
Sara Nanetti
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – Largo A. Gemelli 1, 20123 Milano
corresponding author: sara.nanetti@unicatt.it
Abstract
Retirement marks a biographical and social threshold in which individual decisions, family responsibilities, and relational trajectories intertwined. Far from being a merely economic or private choice, it is a moment of identity renegotiation that takes shape within relationships – through both the constraints and opportunities they generate (Barnes & Parry, 2004). Studies have shown that men, often strongly identified with professional roles, may experience loss of status and relational imbalance, while women, whose identities tend to be more distributed across care and work, may face a different set of challenges (Mutran & Reitzes, 1981). Drawing on a quantitative survey of workers aged 50 and over, this contribution explores the role of family expectations and social networks in shaping retirement transitions and the subjective experience of work-life balance. The findings align with existing literature on the impact of family obligations, such as caregiving for grandchildren or aging parents, on the timing and quality of retirement (Comi, Cottini & Lucifora, 2022), and on how relational density can either support or constrain individual agency. This work prompts a broader reflection on how retirement can become either a space for shared planning or a site of silent overload, particularly in welfare regimes where families act as informal safety nets (Bramanti & Bosoni, 2024; Saraceno, 2010). Public policies are thus called to recognize the relational dimension of this life stage, moving beyond individualistic interpretations (Phillipson, 2013) and fostering environments that value family pluralities, support personal agency, and promote sustainable wellbeing beyond the world of work.
Keywords: work-life balance; transizione pensionistica; capitale sociale; aspettative familiari; cura informale; lavoratori senior.
DOI: 10.23760/2499-6661.2026.27_05
ISBN: 978-88-98193-42-4
ISSN (online): 2499-6661
How to Cite
Nanetti, S. (2026). Famiglie che guidano, legami che pesano. Reti relazionali, aspettative e benessere nella transizione verso la pensione. In Bramanti, D., Errichiello L., Falavigna, G., & Nanetti, S. (cur.). Quale futuro per un invecchiamento sano e attivo? Alcuni spunti di riflessione dalle ricerche del progetto Age-It e prospettive future (pp. 73-86). Quaderni IRCrES 27. CNR-IRCrES. http://dx.doi.org/10.23760/2499-6661.2026.27_05
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* Questo lavoro è stato realizzato nell’ambito del progetto finanziato da Next Generation EU – “Age-It – Ageing well in an ageing society” (PE0000015), CUP B83C22004880006 – Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR) – PE8 – Missione 4, Componente 2, Investimento 1.3. Le opinioni espresse sono esclusivamente degli autori e non riflettono necessariamente quelle dell’Unione Europea o della Commissione Europea. Né l’Unione Europea né la Commissione Europea possono essere ritenute responsabili dei contenuti qui riportati.
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