Preparing for retirement: how self-efficacy and resource threats contribute to retirees’ satisfaction,depression, and losses

The resource-based dynamic perspective has been applied in this study to explore retirees’ satisfaction, depression, and actual loss of resources. A three-wave design with Spanish workers who were in transition to retirement (N = 286) was used with the aim of investigating correlations between pre-retirement variables and post-retirement well-being. Participants were working at Time 1 and Time 2 but at Time 3, they had retired in the past year. Individual attributes (age), access to resources (life satisfaction and depression), situational characteristics (job stress, job tenure, and retirement transition quality), and psychological disposition (general self-efficacy and positive retirement expectations) at the first wave, correlated with the threat of loss at the second wave. Moreover, these predictors explained how people adjust to retirement at the third wave, assessed both directly (actual loss of resources) and indirectly (satisfaction with retirement and depression), via their effects on Time 2 variables. The results revealed that threat of loss had a positive relationship on loss of resources after retirement, and also both on retirement satisfaction and depression after retirement. Hence, this suggested several avenues for intervention targeting expectations and, in turn, increasing retirees’ well-being, which are discussed.     

Changes in Athletic Identity and Life Satisfaction of Elite Athletes as a Function of Retirement Status

The purpose of this study was to track changes in athletic identity and life satisfaction of elite athletes over time as a function of retirement status and the voluntariness of retirement decisions. Sixty-two elite Australian athletes from 3 different phases of their athletic careers were surveyed 5 years apart. Athletic identity was shown to decrease as athletes approached retirement. Athletes who retired voluntarily reported an increase in life satisfaction post-retirement. These findings support the need for athlete career education programs that emphasize autonomy and career planning.     

A mixed-method approach to post-retirement career planning

In times of rising longevity and shortage of skilled workers, post-retirement work has become increasingly prevalent in many countries. However, not much is known about the expectations and facilitating factors associated with work-related activities after retirement. In two studies we draw on the social cognitive career theory and investigated the role of outcome expectations and facilitating factors in post-retirement career planning. First, we interviewed 22 older employees and subject matter experts in a German aerospace company to learn more about expectations of post-retirement work and its facilitating factors to build a theoretical model. Second, to test our theoretical model, 212 employees of the same company aged 50 to 65 completed a web-based survey. Results showed that outcome expectations and the facilitating factors identified in the interview study were significantly related to post-retirement career intention. Further, the facilitating factor social approval moderated the relationship between outcome expectations and post-retirement career intention. We discuss implications of our findings in terms of how they inform retirement counselors, organizations, and society to help increase engagement in work-related activities after retirement.     

Life Satisfaction of Nearly Retired and Retired Workers

This study of retired workers and those nearing retirement in a university setting revealed similarities in perceived life satisfaction but found significant differences among employment categories.     

Predictors of life satisfaction among multicultural African families in South Korea

The aim of this study was to predict perceived life satisfaction of multicultural African families living in South Korea in terms of their fluency in the Korean language, government support for education, and the experience of discrimination. A total of 64 family members (29 women, 45.3%) completed measures of life satisfaction, Korean language fluency, public welfare assistance, and social discrimination. A hierarchical regression analysis determined that life satisfaction was higher among those with fluency in the Korean language and low or no reliance on public welfare programs. Experience of social discrimination was unrelated to life satisfaction. Host-country language fluency and livelihood self-sustenance seem to be key resources for families with immigrant spouses.     

Outcome expectations and work design characteristics in post-retirement work planning

Today, a growing number of individuals decide to work beyond normal retirement age (Eurofound, 2012). Research has revealed influencing factors for post-retirement work at the individual, job and organizational, family, and socioeconomic levels. However, not much is known about post-retirement work planning and its antecedents. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of outcome expectations regarding post-retirement work and two work design characteristics (i.e., physical demands and social support at work) on post-retirement work planning by applying the framework of social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). Data from 1065 employees of a German logistics company were used in this study. Results provide support for SCCT to be a suitable theoretical framework for understanding post-retirement career planning and thereby expand the application of SCCT to a new field. Furthermore, multilevel analysis revealed that physical demands were negatively related to the intention to continue to work for the pre-retirement employer after retirement entry, whereas social support at work strengthened the relationship between outcome expectations and same-employer-post-retirement work intention. Organizations who want their retired employees to continue to work in retirement should develop interventions to strengthen post-retirement work outcome expectations. An increase in social support at work as well as a reduction in physical demands may also contribute to increased participation in continued work with the same employer in retirement.     

Outcome expectations and work design characteristics in post-retirement work planning

Today, a growing number of individuals decide to work beyond normal retirement age (Eurofound, 2012). Research has revealed influencing factors for post-retirement work at the individual, job and organizational, family, and socioeconomic levels. However, not much is known about post-retirement work planning and its antecedents. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of outcome expectations regarding post-retirement work and two work design characteristics (i.e., physical demands and social support at work) on post-retirement work planning by applying the framework of social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). Data from 1065 employees of a German logistics company were used in this study. Results provide support for SCCT to be a suitable theoretical framework for understanding post-retirement career planning and thereby expand the application of SCCT to a new field. Furthermore, multilevel analysis revealed that physical demands were negatively related to the intention to continue to work for the pre-retirement employer after retirement entry, whereas social support at work strengthened the relationship between outcome expectations and same-employer-post-retirement work intention. Organizations who want their retired employees to continue to work in retirement should develop interventions to strengthen post-retirement work outcome expectations. An increase in social support at work as well as a reduction in physical demands may also contribute to increased participation in continued work with the same employer in retirement.     

Perceived agency in retirement and retiree drinking behavior: Job satisfaction as a moderator

Based on recent findings that post-retirement adjustment may be influenced by the conditions leading up to the decision to retire, we examine the impact of individual agency in the retirement decision on problematic drinking behavior, as well as the extent to which such an effect may itself depend upon the valence of the pre-retirement work experience. Using a sample of 304 blue-collar retirees, our findings indicate that, when controlling for pre-retirement drinking behavior, perceptions of retirement as the result of a more forced or involuntary decision are associated with greater alcohol consumption, while perceptions of retirement as the result of a more volitional or voluntary process are associated with lower levels of alcohol consumption and a lower risk of problematic drinking behavior. Our results also indicate that pre-retirement job satisfaction amplifies the former relationship, while attenuating the latter one.     

Perceived agency in retirement and retiree drinking behavior: Job satisfaction as a moderator

Based on recent findings that post-retirement adjustment may be influenced by the conditions leading up to the decision to retire, we examine the impact of individual agency in the retirement decision on problematic drinking behavior, as well as the extent to which such an effect may itself depend upon the valence of the pre-retirement work experience. Using a sample of 304 blue-collar retirees, our findings indicate that, when controlling for pre-retirement drinking behavior, perceptions of retirement as the result of a more forced or involuntary decision are associated with greater alcohol consumption, while perceptions of retirement as the result of a more volitional or voluntary process are associated with lower levels of alcohol consumption and a lower risk of problematic drinking behavior. Our results also indicate that pre-retirement job satisfaction amplifies the former relationship, while attenuating the latter one.     

Retirement Adjustment Quality: Optimism and Self-Efficacy as Antecedents of Resource Accumulation

The resource-based dynamic perspective posits that retirement adjustment quality is a direct result of an individual’s access to valuable resources during transition and in the post-retirement phase, while at the same time underscoring the need to explore the distal antecedents of adjustment quality. The present study aims to examine how distal antecedents—dispositional traits and motivational variables—influence older workers’ resource accumulation and, ultimately, how it affects retirement adjustment quality, under the resource-based dynamic perspective and Hobfoll’s resource theory. A three-wave study was designed with older Spanish workers (N = 455), who were still in active employment at time 1 and time 2 but who had retired within the last 4 months at time 3. Dispositional traits like optimism have predictive power as a gauge of resource accumulation in the short run, although not all of them were fully significant. Some unexpected findings are the limited impact of personal finances on retirement adjustment quality and the absolutely nugatory influence of cognitive resources on quality of life. The present study employs a widely validated measure of retirement adjustment quality, which should ensure comparability of findings with evidence obtained from other studies.     

The role of mattering as an overlooked key challenge in retirement planning and adjustment

In an aging society, making a successful transition from work to retirement and achieving good quality of retirement adjustment become major concerns for individuals, organizations, and governments. This paper focuses on the particular role of mattering (i.e., individuals' perceptions that they make a difference in the world) as a critical self-concept dimension that may mediate the impact of social interactions on retirement process at two distinct phases. We conducted two studies using time lagged design (with one-year time interval) among older workers 55 years or older (N = 161; Study 1) and retirees (N = 186; Study 2). Study 1 found that mattering mediated the effects of social support at work on life satisfaction but not retirement planning. Study 2 found that mattering mediated the effects of general social support on positive affect but not life satisfaction. Contrary to our expectation, mattering also did not mediate effects of caregiving activities. Overall, our results suggest that mattering represents a critical mechanism that explains some of the positive associations between social support and retirement adjustment quality.     

Impact of Working Time Mismatch on Job Satisfaction: Evidence for German Workers with Disabilities

This study examines the impact of working time mismatch (i.e. the discrepancy between actual and desired working hours) on individuals’ job satisfaction by disability status in Germany. Our particular interest is in testing the assumption that working time mismatch is a more serious problem among workers with disabilities as compared to workers without disabilities, especially concerning the presence of overemployment. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1985–2011), we estimate a “Probit Adapted OLS” model which allows us to identify the factors affecting job satisfaction for people without and with disabilities. The results indicate that all workers suffering from working time mismatch are more likely to report lower levels of job satisfaction compared to those who actually work their desired hours. In addition, all selected groups of females with disabilities prefer lower hours of work per week compared to females without disabilities. Although overemployment is clearly more harmful in terms of job satisfaction than underemployment for all workers, its impact is even higher for females with disabilities as compared to their non-disabled counterparts. From a public policy perspective, these findings show the importance of reducing working time mismatch in general and overemployment in particular among females with disabilities in order to increase their levels of job satisfaction.     

Remembered work importance,satisfaction, reminiscence and adjustment in retirement: A case study

Previous research on the relationship between adjustment to retirement and variables related to pre-retirement occupation has been inconclusive with reviewers calling for investigations which take individual dafferences into account, This case study examined the relationship between remembered importance of and satisfaction with occupation, reminiscence about working life and adjustment to retirement in the life of Mr Howard, a 70 year old ex-manager, Quantitative and qualitative analyses attentive to the importance of individual characteristics produced findings consistent with previous research suggesting that intrinsic occupational factors are important earlier on in working life but are replaced by extrinsic factors later in life. Mr Howard reported however, that this change was a reaction to external changes (organizational change due to nationalization) rather than a purely psychological process. He was fairly satisfied with life in general and retirement in particular and reminisced about working life sometimes on his own or with ex-workmates. These findings and the implications of single-case methodology are discussed.     

Happiness Trends Under Democracy: Where Will the New South African

Five years after South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, life satisfaction and happiness still reflect societal divides sowed by apartheid social engineering. The paper reports the indicators: life satisfaction, happiness and expectations for the future, from national surveys conducted between 1983 and 1999 for the South African Quality-of-Life Trends Project. Post-election euphoria, which saw all South Africans happy and satisfied with life for a brief moment in 1994, raises the question where the new set-level of subjective well-being will eventually come to rest. In 1999, in spite of some gains in living conditions, the level of life satisfaction of blacks has not risen above the mid-point and happiness is only slightly above the mid-point. Meanwhile, whites, who have forfeited their political dominance, continue to score above the mid-point on happiness and life satisfaction. The paper draws on the literature, particularly on quality-of-life trends in reunified Germany and paradoxical trends in African-American life satisfaction when discussing the dynamics underlying South African subjective well-being. It is argued that coping mechanisms may play an important role in determining levels of subjective well-being in the complex situation of South Africa.     

Calling in retirement: A mixed methods study

This mixed methods study aimed to examine the experiences of a calling in retirement with a sample of 196 retired adults. First, a qualitative analysis explored the types of activities participants experienced as a calling as well as the types of barriers that participants perceived as keeping them from living their calling. ‘Helping Others’ emerged as the largest category of calling that participants endorsed and ‘No Resources to Live Calling’ emerged as the most frequently endorsed barrier. Building on our qualitative findings, we conducted a quantitative analysis to examine the relation of perceiving a calling with well-being. Consistent with prior research with working adult populations and in support of our hypotheses, perceiving a calling related to life meaning and life satisfaction, and structural equation modeling demonstrated that life meaning and living a calling (via life meaning) fully mediated the perceiving calling–life satisfaction relation. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Extending the integrated model of retirement adjustment: Incorporating mastery and retirement planning

Extending earlier research, this study explores individual (e.g. demographic and health characteristics), psychosocial (e.g. mastery and planning) and organizational factors (e.g. conditions of workforce exit) influencing retirement adjustment. Survey data were collected from 570 semi-retired and retired men and women aged 45 years and older. Findings suggest that higher income, and having better psychological and physical health accounted for better retirement adjustment. After controlling for the effects of demographics and health, a higher personal sense of mastery and more favorable conditions of exit significantly predicted adjustment to retirement. Pre-retirement planning was not related to retirement adjustment. However, analyses revealed that the effect of post-retirement planning on retirement adjustment was mediated by mastery. Practical implications for the design of interventions to promote mastery in later life and provide control over the transition from the workforce are discussed.     

Towards an integrated model of individual, psychosocial, and organizational predictors of retirement adjustment

This cross-sectional study examines three predictors of retirement adjustment: individual (demographic and health), psychosocial (work centrality), and organizational (conditions of workforce exit). It also examines the effect of work centrality on post-retirement activity levels. Survey data was collected from 394 retirees (aged 45-93 years). Results suggested that better psychological health, higher income, and being married predicted better retirement adjustment. Work centrality was neither related to retirement adjustment nor to post-retirement activity levels. Conditions of exit significantly predicted retirement adjustment, even after controlling for lower-level individual and psychosocial influences. Practical implications for the design of retirement planning programs and organizational exit strategies are discussed.     

The Role of Self-Efficacy in Explaining Psychological and Financial Preparation for Retirement: A Behavioural Study of Retirement Transitioning in Uganda

The individual’s level of perceived self-efficacy could be an important driver for early retirement preparation. Most employees in Ugandan organisations reach that age of retirement without sufficient knowledge on how they will survive during their post-retirement life. This study sought to examine whether self-efficacy predicts psychological preparation and financial preparation for retirement. The sample of 924 employees aged 24–60 years selected voluntarily from four three service-oriented organisations participated in this study. Confirmatory factor analysis was run to confirm whether the factor indices (latent variables) extracted from exploratory factor analysis were actually measures of psychological preparation and financial preparation for retirement. Structural equation modelling was used to test regression relationships, and correlation between latent variable of the dependent constructs was tested using Pearson product moment correlation coefficients. The findings indicated a four-factor model for psychological preparation and a two-factor model for financial preparation. Self-efficacy predicted only three factors of psychological preparation and finance management mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and personal initiative. With these findings, it was concluded that individuals with capacity to adapt new changes can easily re-engage in other jobs. Similarly, those concerned with their social identity will focus on developing career skills that would yield the same level of importance in society. However, finance management training is crucial to the development of strategies and competences that empower people to maintain satisfying lifestyles after retirement. Finally, self-efficacy is a driving factor of personal initiative but the relationship is reinforced when finance management competences are acquired.     

Perceptions of and satisfaction with retirement: a comparison of six European union countries

The main aim of this study was to assess perceptions of and satisfaction with retirement among 1,686 recently retired people from 6 European Union countries. The authors compared their responses to a set of questions taken from the Retirement Satisfaction Inventory (F. J. Floyd et al., 1992). The first significant result was that Belgian, British, Finnish, French, and Spanish retirees all expressed very similar assessments of life satisfaction, whereas Portuguese retirees expressed a lower level of satisfaction. The 2nd result was that the major determinants of overall satisfaction in the 6 countries were (a) health and resources and (b) anticipated satisfaction. Finally, the data revealed that cultural background only accounted for a limited amount of variance in overall satisfaction with retirement.     

Intergenerational Coresidence and Life Satisfaction in Old Age: The Moderating Role of Homeownership

Household structure for older people’s subjective well-being is important to promote healthy ageing in the context of the rapid increase of the older population. Living with adult children is known to promote older people’s life satisfaction, a key indicator of subjective well-being, whereas others claim a negative impact of such intergenerational coresidence. This study aims to empirically test these theories (family support vs. family conflict), by examining the role of homeownership–another important factor contributing to subjective well-being–in this association between intergenerational coresidence and life satisfaction. Analysing the nationally representative data on the elderly population in South Korea, the findings showed that intergenerational coresidence decreases life satisfaction when the elderly achieve a certain level of housing security by living in owner-occupied housing. Living with adult children is negatively associated with life satisfaction particularly for older old homeowners compared to younger old owners. Our findings provide implications for public policies promoting intergenerational coresidence and asset-based welfare to enhance older people’s well-being in Korea and more broadly in East Asia.