To better understand what affects people’s decisions to retire, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) commissioned a multi-disciplinary team of researchers led by Dr Andrew Weyman to review and interpret existing UK and international research findings (for the period 2000–10), and produce theoretically informed recommendations for public policy.

In particular, the study has meet DWPs requirement for an enhanced insight into the array and relative importance of social and cultural variables that influence decision-making; thereby supporting its delivery of an evidence-based approach to the design of policies that encourage extending working life (EWL).