The Heterogeneity of Middle-Age Australians' Retirement Plans
2014; Oxford University Press; Volume: 38; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1093/swr/svu005
ISSN1545-6838
AutoresWei Wang, Anthony Worsley, Eric Cunningham, Wendy Hunter,
Tópico(s)Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies
ResumoRetirement is an important phase in people's lives. Life after retirement is less likely to be healthy and satisfying without planning. This study investigated retirement planning patterns among middle-age Australians and the relationships between these patterns and demographics, problem-solving skills, attitudes toward the future, and the presence of long-term illness. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a random sample of Australians ages 40 to 70 years in Victoria. A total of 729 usable questionnaires were obtained. Latent class analysis was conducted separately for men and women because of known gender differences in retirement-planning behaviors. Four types of retirement planning for both genders were identified—namely, fully planned, physically and mentally planned, financially planned, and unplanned. Membership of these groups was associated with age, income, problem-solving skills, attitudes toward the future, and the presence of long-term illness. The findings suggest that middle-age people should be encouraged to engage in multifaceted retirement planning to have a healthy and active retirement life. This may be improved by attempts to change attitudes and to improve problem-solving ability. The findings also highlight the need for social policies to provide adequate, readily available information to support planning for retirement.
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