Deciding the Future

Abstract

This study examines the retirement planfulness of men and women in dual-earner couples using data from the Ecology of Careers Study and structural equation modeling. It assesses whether each spouse plans independently, whether this is a gendered division of labor, whether both spouses' plans mutually influence each other, or whether decision making about retirement is an individual process for each member of a couple. The authors find that spouses' levels of retirement planfulness are positively related but in different ways depending on gender, cohort, and family circumstances. Perceived control (mastery), income adequacy, and workload all predict both husbands' and wives' planfulness. And husbands' planfulness tends to shape their wives' planfulness in the full sample. However, age cohort and family stage both moderate dual-earner couples' decision making about retirement. Younger couples (those in the trailing edge baby boom cohort) make plans independently, and in this younger cohort, only wives' planfulness can be modeled.

Work‐family conflict and work‐family synergy for generation X, baby boomers, and matures

“…Understanding these dynamics will require more research since it is likely that definitive generational differences can be confidently identified only by using longitudinal data tracking each generational group. Following Moen's work (Chesley and Moen, 2006; Moen et al , 2006), examining the life course of individuals and couples and looking at espoused attitudes as well as actual behaviors may provide additional insight into the nature of generational effects. Finally, generational cohort and family stage may interact with or moderate the differences in antecedents (and outcomes) of work‐family conflict and synergy.…”

Adjustment of Couples to the Transition to Retirement: The Interplay of Intra- and Interpersonal Emotion Regulation in Daily Life

“…This warrants further investigation with more heterogeneous samples and might lead to implications not only for including the partner in intervention supporting the individual transition to retirement (Ahlers, 2004) but also for targeting interventions to different types of couples. For example, it has been reported that dual-earner couples often plan to retire together and cohort effects on the transition to retirement reflecting different realities regarding gender equality in the workforce (Moen et al, 2006;Ho and Raymo, 2009). Other studies have found that younger dual-earner couples do not generally prefer to retire jointly, only if they report high levels of relationship and low levels of work attachment (Eismann et al, 2017) and that perceived influence on retirement decisions by the partner yields ambivalent results calling for validating the need of the retirees for autonomy while including the partner in the retirement process (Smith and Moen, 2004).…”

Income Disparity among Older Malaysians

“…In summary, retirement preparation among those employed influences income during old age. Moen, Huang, Plassmann, and Dentinger (2006) found in their study that spouses' decision making in the form of retirement planning tends to be positively related to what the respondents' retirement planning behaviour. A study conducted by HSBC (2008) revealed that only a small proportion of people will be prepared for retirement and be completely protected in terms of receiving adequate retirement income.…”