This study investigated preparation for retirement in the rural elderly and the relationship between that preparation and retirement satisfaction. A number of anticipatory socialization for retirement mechanisms were investigated including planning for retirement, preretirement education, gradual versus immediate retirement, discussion of retirement with others, and exposure to written information and mass media programs about retirement. Respondents were 252 men and 199 women who participated in the retirement substudy of an 8-year epidemiological investigation of persons aged 65 and over in two rural Iowa counties. Planning for retirement, reading about retirement, and exposure to radio or television programs about retirement were significant correlates of retirement satisfaction for both sexes. Gradual retirement was a significant correlate of retirement satisfaction for males only. After health, planning for retirement was the second strongest predictor of retirement satisfaction for males.