Adjustment to retirement from gainful employment has long been recognized as one of the major adaptive tasks of later life. The degree to which this adjustment is successful often plays a major role in determining the extent to which an individual finds his later years satisfying and rewarding. In a complex technical society retirement does not consist of a relatively simple change in status from the role of worker to that of nonworker, but has important interpersonal and intrapersonal implications that affect the retired person's personal and social existence. This monograph describes the results of a study of compulsory retirement among urban males and females. The data reported are largely concerned with the prediction and nature of responses to the retirement event, and implications of these for the development of preretirement programs. (Author/HMV)