Planning for Retirement Security: What Helps or Hinders Women in the Middle Years?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the retirement planning of women between 40 and 55 years of age within the theoretical framework of family re source management. A sample of 220 wornen completed mailed questionnaires. Retirement planning was defined as a five‐step managerial process. Descriptive responses of these women indicated high interest in retirement planning, but their level of planning raised serious concern for the future. Special emphasis on three social‐psychological concepts—risk taking, “math anxiety,” and locus of control—offered a unique perspective in this study. Multiple regression analysis found the following characteristics of women most active in retirement planning: higher household income, expected a pension, positive orientation toward finan cial risk, perceived control over chance, general willingness to take risks, internal belief in the ability to control one's life, comfort with math ability, and older age.

Math Anxiety

“…This decreased math performance is not limited to academic situations. Math anxiety is also related to poor drug calculations among nurses (McMullan, Jones, & Lea, 2012), reduced teaching self-efficacy among teachers (Swars, Daane, & Giesen, 2006), and impaired financial planning (McKenna & Nickols, 1988), meaning that, even outside of academics, math anxiety can have large and detrimental consequences in people's daily lives.…”

Predicting maths anxiety from mathematical achievement across the transition from primary to secondary education

“…Maths anxiety is not restricted to academic environments, it is experienced in and interferes with a wide range of everyday situations [18]. It has been linked to poor financial planning [19], low self-efficacy in teachers [20] and poor drug calculations in nurses [21]. In academic settings, maths anxiety is a barrier to learning related subjects such as statistics [22,23], avoidance of optional maths courses within education [8], and the avoidance of maths and science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM)-related careers [1,8,24].…”

Status of Individuals' Planning to Prepare for Retirement in Turkey

“…According to previous findings in our country and elsewhere, some researchers have found that retirement had been planned (Yilmaz, 1996;McKenna & Nickols, 1988;Metha 1999;Elder & Rudolph, 1999;Conrad & Flynn, 2000;Joo & Grable, 2001). Others found that it had not been planned (Sarim, 1996;Lim, 2002;Knierim, 2003;Ekerdt, DeViney, & Koslsoki, 1996;Dan, 2004).…”

“…Consequently, as in research conducted by Cooper (1990), Kominski and Adams (1994), Kragie, Gerstein, & Lichtman (1989), and Ferraro (1990), it was seen in this study that individuals' educational level was a factor that had an effect on the status of planning to prepare for retirement (Table 1). However, in studies conducted by McKenna and Nickols (1988), Maxwall (1986), and Knierim (2003) it was determined that both educational level and income level had an effect on planning for retirement.…”