Perceptions of Retirement Adequacy: Evidence From South Africa

Abstract

Concerns regarding the adequacy of retirement savings have contributed to the move to encourage better savings behavior. One area of research focuses on understanding the profile of individuals who believe they are preparing adequately for retirement. The current study uses data from a national survey of South Africans to determine how confident workers are about their future retirement income adequacy, and whether behavioral characteristics play a role in their perception of retirement readiness. This study highlights the role that behavioral factors play in perceptions of retirement income adequacy in an African developing market context. In particular, financial risk tolerance, future time perspective, good financial behavior, and self-assessed financial knowledge are all found to be positively related to respondents’ retirement confidence.

Use of Advisors and Retirement Plan Performance

“…Retirement plans are designed to replace a portion of employment income during retirement. Planning for retirement has become more important now than before (Guo & Finke, 2018;Pfau, 2018;Reyers, 2018). The last few decades witnessed a sizeable shift from defined benefit (DB) plans to defined contribution (DC) plans in the U.S. (Cheng, Kalenkoski, & Gibson, 2019;McFarland, 2018;Moreland, 2018).…”

Kesiapan Asn Menghadapi Masa Pensiun Berdasarkan Pangkat/Golongan Dan Jenis Kelamin Serta Implikasinya Terhadap Konseling

“…Pekerjaan sangat menentukan posisi individu dalam pandangan masyarakat sehingga dalam hidupnya setiap individu berusaha memperoleh pekerjaan yang baik dan sesuai dengan minat serta kemampuannya. Sementara itu masa kerja seseorang terbatas, seiring bertambahnya usia biasanya performa kerja akan semakin menurun hingga tidak sanggup lagi untuk bekerja [3]. Menurunnya performa seseorang dalam melaksanakan tugas pekerjaannya hingga mangajukan diri untuk berhenti disebut dengan masa pensiun.…”

Retirement funding adequacy in black South African townships

“…In the South African context, individuals are not financially prepared to retire (Reyers, 2018). More specifically, black individuals, who as of 2019 constitute over 80 per cent of the South African population (Statistics South Africa, 2019), refer natural persons who are citizens of the Republic of South Africa by birth or by naturalisation and are of African descent (Valchev et al , 2013, p. 10; Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2003).…”

“…Black South Africans are reportedly less likely to be actively involved in the management of their finances and remain particularly disadvantaged in comparison with white individuals, in terms of labour market opportunities, wealth and readiness for retirement (Dal Borgo, 2013; Financial Services Board, 2012). Furthermore, racial gaps in employment have compounded the inequalities in income and the retirement savings of individuals (Reyers, 2018; Butler and Van Zyl, 2012).…”

“…To further this background, the purpose of the study is to investigate the factors that influence the retirement funding adequacy of black South Africans. Given the limited amount of research regarding retirement adequacy in South Africa (Reyers, 2018), the contribution of this study is to determine the factors that influence the retirement funding adequacy of black South Africans by expanding on a previous study (Zeka et al ., 2017). The following research question was therefore explored: To what extent does the family structure, health status, financial literacy of individuals and the role of the financial planner influence retirement funding adequacy?…”