Funding the Golden Age : The Effect of Financial Planning Choices on Anticipated Retirement Satisfaction, Retirement Adjustment and Overall Retirement Satisfaction

摘要

Retirement planning has been shown to affect transition into retirement, andsatisfaction with it. The current study was designed to investigate the effect thatfinancial planning choices have on an individuals anticipated level of retirementsatisfaction, their adjustment to retirement and their overall satisfaction withretirement. Retirement was defined as an exit from an organisation or career path ofconsiderable duration, taken with intention of reduced psychological commitment towork thereafter (Feldman, 1994) therefore some retirees in the current study wereworking in retirement. To incorporate this into the current research, the relationshipbetween working in retirement and planning was explored; looking at whether thepreviously discussed effects of financial planning (on anticipated retirementsatisfaction, adjustment to retirement and overall retirement satisfaction) are affectedby work in retirement. The Retirement Satisfaction Index (RSI; (Floyd et al., 1992))was used to measure anticipated retirement satisfaction, adjustment to retirement andoverall retirement satisfaction. Financial planning choices and demographic detailswere recorded from questionnaires. Participants were 98 retired persons living inNew Zealand. Factor analysis was used to explore the factor structure of the RSI(Floyd et al., 1992) on a New Zealand sample, the factor struture was similar tostructure repeorted by Floyd et.al (1992) and Fouqueraeu, Fenandez and Mullet(1999). Some changes were noted in the ‘retirement satisafaction’ factor. Theimplication of these are discussed. Individual financial planning had a positive effecton overall retirement. There were no significant effects found for anticipatedsatisfaction and adjustment to retirement. Further working in retirement had nosignificant effects on individual planning or the previously discussed effects ofindividual planning on the retirement experience.