PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the effects of demographical factors (age, education and income); psychological factors which are future time perspective (FTP) and financial risk tolerance (FRT); along with financial literacy on retirement planning among female workers in Indonesia.Design/methodology/approachThis study applies a quantitative approach, where primary data was acquired through online surveys to 529 workers in various locations in Indonesia. After data cleaning, the final sample size was 304. The PLS-SEM technique was utilised to assess the structural model in the study.FindingsThe results of this study show that income affects an individual's perspective towards the future. Financial literacy is confirmed to have a direct effect on retirement planning activity. Furthermore, financial literacy appears to be a significant mediator between demographical factors and FTP in affecting retirement planning. An individual's acceptance towards risk is also affected by financial literacy.Practical implicationsThe general public, especially female workers group who have no retirement funds, need to be educated on financial literacy. The government might need to encourage other parties and work together to financially educate the public, specifically regarding investments for retirement planning.Originality/valueMost previous studies on retirement planning focused on demographical factors in general, and not specifically on a certain group. Filling the gap of existing studies, this study specifically discusses retirement planning done by female workers in Indonesia. Women's role as a workforce, with their psychological conditions and financial literacy, makes for an interesting topic to be studied further in terms of retirement planning.