Preretirement Planning and Perceptions of Satisfaction Among Retirees

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of preretirement planning on life satisfaction during retirement. It addresses the question of which manner of preretirement planning is most effective in enhancing life during retirement. The sample consisted of 322 retired subjects who were affiliated with either a community church or an alumni chapter of a national fraternity or who retired from a large private corporation. The findings indicate that retirement preparatory programs are most useful if they are performed or provided in a timely manner and effectively address, among other topics, health and financial matters pertinent to retirees. Further findings indicate that there were significant differences in the life satisfaction expressed by retirees who planned on their own as compared with those who participated in structured company-sponsored preretirement planning programs and those who did not plan for retirement. Such findings suggest that gerontology educators, researchers, and professionals should continue to develop more effective retirement preparatory programs.

Preparation for Retirement: Problems and Suggestions of Retirees

“…It is important to stress that this finding holds both for those who stated they had problems during their retirement and for those who said they had a very positive experience. For many respondents, retirement was not a particularly difficult phase of existance; this finding is in agreement with findings from other surveys carried out in different contexts (Anderson & Weber, 1993;Cavallaro, 1990;Streib & Schneider, 1971).…”

“…Besides information on material aspects, such as management of savings, problems regarding social security, legal matters, and health, it was found that respondents needed guidance to help them to live this new period of life in a satisfying way. The kind of guidance they desired suggests that programs should be initiated prior to the retirement date, as suggested by Monk (1990), Anderson andWeber (1993), andPrchlik (1994). Research on such activities carried out only a few months, or even weeks, before withdrawal from work revealed a feeling of unsatisfaction and frustration among many participants, a result of the impossibility of putting into practice what was learned because of 386 F. MARCELLINIETAL.…”

Retirement Planning, Use of Time, and Psychosocial Adjustment

“…Participation in a preretirement program can be one context for assessing an individual's attitudes toward retirement as well as retirement preparation (Abel & Hayslip, 1987). These preretirement courses can help ease the transition (Atton, 1985), but they are the most useful when they occur in a timely manner and address health and nancial matters that are pertinent to the retiree (Anderson & Weber, 1993). Getting employees involved in retirement programs early on can, however, be problematic.…”

“…The birth explosion of the 1940s and 1950s in the United States, along with the increase in life expectancies resulting from advances in medical science, has resulted in an increase in the number of people who are retired or who will soon retire (Anderson & Weber, 1993). The average worker now expects to retire and have many productive years to follow.…”

Status of Individuals' Planning to Prepare for Retirement in Turkey

“…An increase in the number of people working and people retiring at earlier ages has also caused an increase in the number of retired individuals. Thus, retirees have become a a large population group (Moody, 1998;Morgan & Kunkel, 1998;Howard, Marshall, Rechnitzer, Cunningham, & Danner, 1982;Kulik, 2001;Davidhizar, 1998;Anderson & Weber, 1993).…”