Ana Oliveira

The classic tripartite life-course model (education, work, and retirement) is under increasing pressure from rising longevity and structural labour-market change. This study examines how Millennials and Generation Z in Portugal conceptualise retirement and the life course, asking whether these cohorts adhere to a standardised, sequential logic or aspire to more fluid, multi-stage trajectories, and whether observed differences reflect generation or socioeconomic position. A cross-sectional survey of 234 participants aged 18–43 assessed perceptions of retirement, openness to non-linear life cycles, future concerns, preparation strategies, and orientations towards lifelong learning. Responses were analysed using non-parametric tests (Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis) and multivariate linear regression, with outcomes stratified by income, education, and occupational status. Participants showed a widespread preference for greater flexibility around the tripartite sequence rather than its abandonment, the statutory retirement age persisting as a reference point. Trust in the public pension system was low and cross-cutting, with over 70% doubting its capacity to ensure an adequate retirement, while Generation Z reported significantly greater concern about losing professional purpose. Socioeconomic position was a more consistent stratifier than generation for financial preparation, which rose with income and education; distrust, by contrast, was predicted by neither socioeconomic position nor generation in multivariate models. These findings indicate that biographical deinstitutionalisation may already be underway among younger Portuguese cohorts, with structural risks increasingly individualised, carrying implications for the redesign of life-course policies and social protection systems in an era of longevity.

Digital competencies among older adults remain scattered in research, lacking integration. This highlights a significant opportunity for gerontological social work research and practice, leading to innovative interventions for digital inclusion and the well-being of older adults. In this article, we aim to present an umbrella review that integrates and synthesises research on the digital competencies of older adults from six systematic literature reviews in the EBSCO database. From 31,303 articles from 1932 to 2024, 19 reviews were identified, and six met the research objectives. The reviews cover the following: the benefits of digital games for older adults; instruments for measuring digital literacy among older adults; associations between health literacy, eHealth literacy and health outcomes among older adults with chronic conditions; inequalities in the digital divide among older adults; the positive effects of digital mental health literacy interventions; and how technology acceptance among older adults is influenced by the type of technology and its characteristics more than age. These reviews highlight the need for gerontological social work approaches to promoting digital inclusion among older adults, challenging scholars, researchers and practitioners to develop tailored interventions to address their needs in the digital age.

Retirement involves changes and transformations at various levels, requiring everyone the ability to adapt to a new phase of their life cycle. It is an inseparable event of ageing that consists in the termination of professional activities and usually occurs during the middle age stage. Not seen as a social problem, the way the process of transition and adaptation to retirement is experienced may cause situations of vulnerability, isolation, loneliness and social exclusion. The greater or lesser quality of life in aging is associated with the context and circumstances to person is a subject of. In this way, it becomes essential to guarantee the necessary conditions for them to be able to age well and with quality. Methodologically, an exploratory study was carried out with an eminently qualitative approach, using two data collection strategies: the semi-structured interview with 8 professionals and the questionnaire survey of 100 people aged 55 or over. The preparation and planning of this phase are preponderant in the promotion of successful transition-adaptation processes since they allow reducing the period of disorganization and promote new beginnings and meaningful lives. The key aspects to be incorporated into an intervention proposal focused on the preparation of retirement are presented.

The current study analyzed university students’ purpose in life in the context of service-learning (SL) courses developed in a university in Portugal. Briefly, 112 graduation and master students, from different areas, involved in 15 SL courses (82 female; 73.2%; age ranging from 18 to 51; M = 23; SD = 6.51) participated in this study. Questionnaires included an open-ended question about students’ purpose in life. Four closed-ended questions were included to understand student’s perceptions of change in their purpose in life arising from the SL courses and other perceptions about their SL course. Qualitative data were analyzed via content analysis with NVivo. Results indicated that students’ purpose in life ranged from social-related goals, such as helping or caring for others, to personal-related goals, including personal growth and well-being. Most of the students (71.4%) reported that their purpose in life changed moderately or a lot after participating in a SL course. Findings are discussed in light of the literature, identifying implications for the development of SL courses in higher education, considering the contribution of this pedagogic methodology to the definition and reconfiguration of young people’s purpose in life.