Gender and Psychological Planning towards Retirement: The Perspectives of Tutors in Ghanaian Colleges of Education

Abstract

Introduction:A fundamental concern as one contemplates retirement is "will I have enough money on which to live?" This study, conducted in colleges of education in Ghana, investigated into gender influence on psychological planning and preparation towards retirement among tutors in Ghanaian Colleges of Education.Methods: The study employed mixed-method sequential explanatory design. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 54 college tutors from two (2) colleges of education for the survey, while six ( 6) out of the 54 tutors were purposively sampled for interview. The data collected via self-developed questionnaire (Cronbach's alpha = 0.78) and semi-structured interview guide were analysed quantitatively using frequency count, percentage, and inferential statistics (independent samples test), and qualitatively through thematic analysisresponses from respondents were categorized into themes.Results: The study found that most of the tutors were not psychologically ready for retirement. The study revealed a significant but marginal gender differences in psychological planning towards retirement among male and female tutors (p ≤ .05).Conclusions: This study established the evidence of significant gender differences in psychological planning and preparation towards retirement among formal and informal sector workers, including college tutors. There is the need for teacher unions, employers and other stakeholders in Ghana to engage the services of professional financial services advisors and investment institutions to roll out financial investment schemes for tutors besides public pension schemes for a better secured postretirement life.

Public Sector Employees’ Arrangement and Plans Towards Retirement in Ghana

“…It is only 23 of them representing 6.3% who did not have the intention to make financial plans to sustain them during retirement. This finding refutes the assertion by Oteng et al [13] and the finding of Wilson and Aggrey [1] that the majority of workers made no financial plans toward retirement, except the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) which is a public pension scheme in Ghana. The finding of the current study is consistent with Atchley and Barush's [26] assertion that the most significant retirement preparation measure is financial planning.…”

“…The authors concluded that the gloomy picture of teachers is not very different from other public sector workers in Ghana when it comes to retirement and its planning. Oteng, Quashigah, Osei and Vussy [13] also studied planning towards retirement by tutors in Ghanaian Colleges of Education. Concerning experiences during retirement, Aninakwah-Bonsu [14] evaluated post-retirement experiences of pensioners in Ghana.…”

Influence of Retirement Experiences on Psychological Well-Being of Retired Teachers in East Gonja Municipality, Ghana

“…Studies have been conducted to address retirement challenges that workers faced before and even after retirement, but it appears the worries and experiences of those who have retired give an indication that retirement is gradually perceived as a threat instead of being a blessing to most retired Ghanaian workers, including teachers in the East Gonja Municipality in the Savannah Region. Inferring from previous studies, it seems to suggest that the focus of their studies was on planning towards retirement among College of Education tutors (Oteng et al, 2018), an examination of employees' retirement perceptions, mastery, and well-being (Cohen-Mansfield & Regey, 2018), and academic employees' understandings of workplace well-being (Ofori, 2020). This has resulted in the creation of a knowledge lacuna, which will be bridged in the present study by examining the influence of retirement experiences on psychological well-being of retired teachers in the East Gonja Municipality.…”

Financial planning for retirement of self-employed workers in the Ghanaian economy

“…A review of previous empirical studies on financial planning for retirement has revealed that existing research studies on financial planning for workers' retirement have been directed towards employees in the formal sector in the various economies in the world. These studies focused on the role income plays in financial planning, effects of financial education on retirement, planning towards retirement, financial security of tutors and effects of financial literacy on retirement planning of the workers in the formal sector (Vivel-Búa et al , 2019; Ricci and Mitchell, 2017; Oteng et al , 2018; Lusardi and Mitchell, 2011). This has created a major research gap in the field of financial planning for workers' retirement because research has not empirically studied the types of financial plan and the driving forces behind the financial planning for retirement for self-employed workers.…”