Examining pre-retirement and related services offered to service-users with an intellectual disability in Ireland

The purpose of this study was to describe the pre-retirement and related services offered to service-users with intellectual disability in Ireland. Increasing numbers of service-users with an intellectual disability are living into older adulthood, creating important challenges for services providers. The National Intellectual Disability Database 2007 (NIDD) suggests that the population of service-users with an intellectual disability in the Republic of Ireland is an ageing population. Significant ongoing demands for new retirement-related intellectual disability services and enhancement of existing services are indicated. It is unknown how to support the development of a retirement policy to meet this growing need. The findings of this survey study indicate that there is, in general, recognition among Ireland's service providers of the need for retirement options for this population, although little attention has been directed towards formalizing these services through policy-making. There are few retirement policies in place, limiting the implementation of comprehensive services to meet the changing needs of ageing adults with an intellectual disability.