It took the US and Europe some two to three hundred years to make the transition from preindustrial to industrial society, and this transition extended into the mid-20th century. It was during this period that the concept of retirement was born as circumstances changed. Concerned about productive forces, capitalists took into consideration the relative physical and technological backwardness of middle-aged and older workers and began to draw up retirement systems.
估計歐美從「前工業社會」進入「工業化社會」，時間延伸了兩、三百年，一直到二十世紀中葉；此時退休概念應運而生，由於資本家顧慮生產力，考量中高齡勞工的體力衰退與技術落後，開始擬定退休制度。