Postretirement Life Satisfaction and Financial Vulnerability: The Moderating Role of Control

Work and income instability and retirement financial wellbeing for women and men

Financial wellbeing in retirement is contingent on realizations of financial expectations developed earlier in life and may differ substantially by gender. People's standard of living in retirement is tied to stability in work and income trajectories during working years along with retirement benefits and savings. Women have a greater overall income disadvantage relative to men, including reduced life course labor force exposure that may restrict retirement savings and benefits. Using the Canadian Longitudinal and International Study of Adults (LISA) and 20 years of linked tax record data (N = 2,353), we explore the association between instability in work and income histories and lower perceived retirement standard of living (PRSOL), net of retirement benefits, for women and men in Canada. Results show that for women, life course effects shaping PRSOL are driven by cumulative disability exposure and bouts of social assistance. For men, PRSOL is influenced more by cumulative unemployment. Although retirement benefits do not offset histories of work and income instability for either gender, income assistance is protective for women in retirement while personal investments are protective for men. Overall, our findings suggest that despite Canada's relatively generous pension program in later life, life course instability in work and income have persisting, gendered effects on financial wellbeing in retirement that underscore financial and health disadvantage for women across the life course.

Changes in life satisfaction during the transition to retirement: findings from the FIREA cohort study

Life satisfaction is an essential construct of well-being that is tied to behavioral, emotional, social and psychological outcomes. This study aimed to examine changes in total and domain-specific life satisfaction during the retirement transition and additionally examine whether those changes differ by gender, occupation, health and spousal working status. Aging public sector employees (n = 3543) from the Finnish Retirement and Aging Study cohort study were followed up annually before and after retirement. Total life satisfaction score (range 4-20) was computed by summing up the responses in four domains (interestingness, happiness, easiness and togetherness). The mean and mean change estimates and their 95% CI were calculated by using the linear regression models with generalized estimating equations, adjusted for age, gender, occupation, health and marital status. Total life satisfaction score improved among the entire study population during the retirement transition and remained stable thereafter. The improvement was greater among women versus men (gender * time interaction p = 0.004), among those with suboptimal health before retirement vs. those who had good (health * time p < 0.0001) and those who had no spouse vs. those who had a retired or working spouse (spousal-status * time p < 0.0001). In case of domain-specific life satisfaction scores, the greatest improvement was observed in the easiness domain. Life satisfaction improves during the retirement transition period, especially among women, those with suboptimal health and those living without a spouse. The improvement was considerably greater in the easiness domain than any other domains. Life satisfaction remained improved and stable during the post-retirement period.

Retirement Confidence: Development of an Index

Older workers who are confident about the changes accompanying retirement report higher well-being. We have developed an index to measure retirement confidence - the Retirement Confidence Index (RCI). A six-stage approach was used to develop the index items, including (i) a literature review to catalogue retirement confidence components; (ii) a consultation with a panel of experts to review the proposed indicators and combine components according to their meaning; (iii) normalisation of the selected components to make them comparable; (iv) weighting of the top-level dimensions using experts' judgement; (v) linear aggregation of the dimension scores according to their corresponding relative weight; and (vi) correlation of the composite score with a self-report measure of retirement confidence. Based on the review of the literature, a list of nine sub-components (financial literacy, financial attitude and behaviour, financial control, financial anxiety, physical health, mental health, social connectedness, goal setting for retirement and future uncertainties) was compiled. Subsequently, these components were grouped into four broad dimensions. Correlations between these dimensions (social, financial awareness and skills, health and well-being, and retirement awareness and planning dimensions) and the corresponding self-reported measures were as high as r = 0.555, r = 0.603, r = 0.591 and r = 0.569, reflecting 30.8%, 36.3%, 34.9% and 32.3% shared variance with the corresponding self-reported indices, respectively. The Retirement Confidence Index provides the foundation for future research to measure retirement confidence, with the aim of identifying deficient RCI dimensions and directing efforts to targeted policies to ensure older workers are confident about retirement.

Cognitive Functioning, Life Satisfaction, and Their Relationship with the Financial Attitudes of Older Individuals Who Participate in an Active Aging Program

Life expectancy has increased in many countries throughout the world over recent years, leading to new challenges related to aging. A large part of the population is over 60 years old, and therefore studies that focus on financial autonomy and active aging are necessary. In this paper, we analyze the relationship between cognitive functioning and life satisfaction in relation to financial attitudes in a sample of 251 elderly adults (71% women) participating in an active aging program (M = 67.5, SD = 4.5). We used the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Satisfaction with Life scale, and a questionnaire about financial attitudes to gather data. Our results show that cognitive functioning and life satisfaction are related to certain financial attitudes. We also observed differences associated with gender, education level, and financial independence. According to our findings, life satisfaction should be taken into account when the financial attitudes of older adults are evaluated. The importance of support groups for the elderly is highlighted as well as of all those recreation and health programs, since they constitute a means of promoting well-being.

Classifying Retirement Preparation Planners and Doers: A Multi-Country Study

This study has three principal aims: to classify consumers by their retirement preparation planning and behavior; to examine the financial status of retirement preparation in each country; and to find ways to help consumers effectively secure financial sustainability after retirement by practicing retirement preparation. Adopting the planner–doer model, consumers were classified into four types: ‘indifferent,’ ‘just planner,’ ‘just doer,’ and ‘ideal doer.’ This study used data collected by Korea Life Insurance Association to compare the level of retirement preparation in Korea, Japan, Germany, the U.S., and the U.K. The data were analyzed using the chi-square test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and binary logistic regression analysis. The major findings are three-fold: first, the largest percentage of consumers in every country were ‘just doers’; second, ‘ideal doers’ are older than the other types, but have a low expected retirement age and high level of retirement preparedness; and third, ‘ideal doers’ demonstrated distinct variations in their characteristics in different countries. These findings indicate the need to help consumers recognize the necessity to prepare effectively for financial sustainability in their post-retirement lives; this requires the development of policy and gradual education programs, including effective practical suggestions.