How does women's life satisfaction respond to retirement? A two-stage analysis

•We find an overall positive effect of retirement on women's life satisfaction in Australia.•We quantify the adjustment of life satisfaction to retirement as a two-stage process.•Transition to retirement leads to an immediate increase in life satisfaction.•The life satisfaction of female retirees decreases with retirement duration.•Women's life satisfaction at all stages of their retirement life is higher than its pre-retirement level.

We quantify the adjustment of women's life satisfaction to retirement as a two-stage process. The transition to retirement leads to an immediate increase in women's life satisfaction. After becoming retired, their life satisfaction declines with the duration of retirement.