Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

As retirement becomes an extended component of the normative life cycle, understanding factors influencing retirement preparation activities of midlife individuals is important. This study examined the influence of gender, age, marital status, occupational status, educational attainment, income, perceived health, number of children, age of children, and number of dependent children on retirement planning behaviors and attitude toward retirement among 40- to 65-year-old university employees (N = 2,760). The study used regression analysis to determine the demographic variables that differentiated between individuals on four planning scales (financial , home equity, employment, and locational) and in their attitudes toward retirement. The relation ship between financial planning and total family income was the most significant finding. The discussion concludes with policy implications related to assisting midlife individuals in preparation for retirement.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Atchley, R.C. (1982). Adjustment to loss of job at retirement. In K. W. Schaie & J. Geiwitz (Eds.), Adult development and aging (pp. 86-94). Boston: Little, Brown.

Atchley, R.C. (1991). Social forces and aging (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth .

Atchley, R.C. , & Robinson, J.L. (1982). Attitudes toward retirement and distance from the event. Research on Aging, 4, 299-313.

Beck, S.H. (1984). Retirement preparation programs: Differentials in opportunity and use. Journal of Gerontology, 39, 596-602.

Block, M.R. (1982). Professional women: Work pattern as a correlate of retirement satisfaction. In M. Szinovacz (Ed.), Women's retirement: Policy implications of recent research (pp. 183-194). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Block, M.R. (1984). Retirement preparation needs of women. In H. Dennis (Ed.), Retirement preparation: What retirement specialists need to know (pp. 129-140). Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath.

Dillman, D.A. (1978). Mail and telephone surveys: The total design method . New York: Wiley.

Dorfman, L.T. (1988, November). Retirement preparation and retirement satisfaction in the rural elderly. Paper presented at the 41st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America , San Francisco.

Ferraro, K.F. (1990). Cohort analysis of retirement preparation, 1974-1981 . Journal of Gerontology, 45, S21-31.

10.

Goudy, W.J. , Powers, E.A. , & Keith, P. (1975). The work-satisfaction, retirement-attitude typology: Profile examination. Experimental Aging Research, 1, 267-279.

11.

Kappor, J.R. , Dlabay, L.R. , & Hughes, R.J. (1988). Personal Finance. Homewood, IL: Irwin.

12.

Kilty, K.M. , & Behling, J.H. (1986). Retirement financial planning among professional workers. The Gerontologist, 26, 525-530.

13.

Kroeger, N. (1982). Preretirement preparation: Sex differences in access, sources, and use. In M. Szinovacz (Ed.), Women's retirement: Policy implications of recent research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage .

14.

Lewis-Beck, M.S. (1980). Applied regression: An introduction. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

15.

McKenna, J. (1988). Today's opportunity, tomorrow's problem: retirement planning. In C. N. Fletcher (Ed.), Selected proceedings, National Family Economics Extension Specialists' Workshop (pp. 113-117). Ames: Iowa State University.

16.

McPherson, B. , & Guppy, N. (1979). Pre-retirement life-style and the degree of planning for retirement. Journal of Gerontology, 34, 254-263.

17.

Newman, E.S. , Sherman, S.R. , & Higgins, C.E. (1982). Retirement expectations and plans: A comparison of professional men and women. In M. Szinovacz (Ed.), Women's retirement: Policy implications of recent research, (pp. 113-122). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

18.

Norusis, M.J. (1990). SPSS/PC+: 4.0 Base manual. Chicago: SPSS, Inc.

19.

Prentis, R.S. (1980). White-collar working women's perception of retirement . The Gerontologist, 20, 90-95.

20.

Price-Bonham, S. , & Johnson, C.K. (1982). Attitudes toward retirement: A comparison of professional and nonprofessional married women. In M. Szinovacz (Ed.), Women's retirement : Policy implications of recent research (pp. 123-139). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

21.

Ruhm, C.J. (1989). Why older Americans stop working. The Gerontologist, 29, 294-299.

22.

Szinovacz, M. (Ed.). (1982). Women's retirement: Policy implications of recent research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

23.

Szinovacz, M. (1987). Preferred retirement timing and retirement in women. Aging and Human Development, 24, 301-317.

24.

Tabachnick, B.G. , & Fidell, L.S. (1983). Using multivariate statistics. New York: Harper & Row.

25.

U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. (1991 ). Aging America: Trends and projections, 1991 edition (DHHS Publication No. FCoA 91-28001. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Factors Influencing Attitude Toward Retirement and Retirement Planning Among Midlife University Employees

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References