Situational Retirement Intentions and Retirement Planning: Taking a Macro, Miso and Micro Perspective

Abstract

Abolished mandatory retirement, progressive aging of the Baby-Boomer cohort, and the general trend toward longevity have prompted Governments and social-security systems around the world to shift the financial responsibility of retirement from the state to the individual. More research is needed around individual propensities to engage in the retirement planning process, and workplace conditions that might facilitate or debilitate the intention to retire. Evidence consistently indicates that many individuals are insufficiently prepared for their life after retirement. Consideration of the multiple personal, work and social factors involved in retirement planning suggests that Organisational Psychologists are ideally placed to determine how such factors are likely to inhibit or promote retirement planning, and to use these to inform effective interventions and encourage resource accumulation before and during retirement.