“I’m much better off…” - Comparative Processes and Future Intentions of Elder Portuguese Immigrants in Luxembourg

Ageing and migration have become key issues in many European countries as a large number of first generation immigrants are approaching retirement age in the next years. Focusing on elder Portuguese immigrants in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the present study had the aim to explore the roles of social and temporal comparisons for future intentions to stay in the receiving country, return to the country of origin or commute between both. Whereas earlier studies have examined the roles of social or cultural links, economic or health aspects, we focused here on the participants’ personal evaluation of their migratory project by asking them to evaluate their current situation compared with the past and with peers.
A sample of N = 109 Portuguese first generation immigrants (49.5% female; average age: M = 55.35, SD = 7.42) who had been living in Luxembourg for about M = 30.69 (SD = 8.55) years were interviewed by use of a standardized questionnaire. Analyses showed that about half of participants preferred to stay in Luxembourg, whereas the remainder planned to return to Portugal or to commute. The appraisal of the current (vs. past) situation was significantly more positive for those who planned to stay or commute compared to those who wanted to return after retirement. Interestingly, both those who planned to return and those who wanted to stay engaged more frequently in social or temporal comparisons than those who preferred to commute.
Results will be discussed taking into consideration regulatory processes of subjective well-being and different migration experiences.