Abstract

This article draws on life history data of the cohorts of recent U.S. retirees to examine the temporal patterning of retirement. Three major dimensions‐‐historical context, social heterogeneity, and, most important, biographical pacing, measured by cohort, gender, and career pathway, respectively‐‐operate simultaneously, yet unevenly, to affect various aspects of the retirement process. Findings suggest that changes over the past few decades have undermined the regularity in retirement timing that was a product of the convergence of diverse institutional features, anchored by a large core of men on traditional career tracks. Focusing on retirement, our model underscores the multiplex nature of the temporal structuring of the life course.