Retirement is an expected phase of life that is made meaningful through social discourses such as master narratives. This study identified and explored a master narrative of retirement. Eighty-four individuals were interviewed representing four work experience phases. A thematic analysis revealed a master narrative of retirement that shaped expectations for retirement. Participants consistently narrated retirement as the ultimate marker of individual success and freedom. Two fractures appeared in this master narrative: the freedom/routine fracture and the individual responsibility/universal expectations fracture. These fractures created tension within the master narrative of retirement. This study has implications for social class as well as implications for the ways in which master narratives are interwoven into the cultural fabric of society.
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