Wealth accumulation and retirement preparedness in cross-national perspective: A gendered analysis of outcomes among single adults

Wealth is an increasingly important dimension of economic well-being and is attracting rising attention in discussions of social inequality. In this article, we compare – within and across countries – wealth outcomes, and link those to both employment-related factors and policy solutions that have the potential to improve wealth creation and retirement security for women. By constructing country-specific portraits of wealth outcomes and ‘retirement preparedness’, we reveal extensive cross-national variation in multiple facets of wealth. Our regression analysis finds a statistically significant and positive effect of work experience on wealth, with that effect, in general, increasing over time. The effect of work experience for single women is greater than for single men, suggesting that, among men, other, stronger forces are at work in creating wealth. The retirement preparedness outcomes indicate that single women in all three countries are in a precarious position at retirement, with much lower expected annual wealth levels than single men. The second preparedness indicator, which links expected annual wealth to income, demonstrates that men have the potential to cover larger shares of their income at retirement – and thus are more able, than their female counterparts, to maintain standards of living achieved earlier in life. Our policy discussion indicates that employment remains a viable option for ultimately bolstering women’s wealth accumulation. Many scholars, gender equality advocates and policymakers have argued for raising women’s employment rates – for a multitude of reasons – but few, if any, have made the case for strengthening women’s employment in order to ultimately bolster women’s wealth building. We hope to help reduce the gap in the literature on policy supports for women’s employment and re-open the discussion on how women can create more wealth.

The Impact of Financial Literacy on Financial Preparedness for Retirement in the Small and Medium Enterprises Sector in Uganda

In social economic contexts characterized by young populations largely employed in the small and medium enterprise informal sector, retirement preparedness is an individual responsibility. This chapter explores the effects of age and financial literacy (knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors) on retirement preparedness (RP). Primary data collected from a sample of n = 380 small and medium enterprise (SME) workers in Uganda is analyzed using SPSS. Measurement items are tested for validity and reliability to yield satisfactory composite reliability scores and average variance explained (AVE). Structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to test the hypotheses. The results reveal that specific behaviors, knowledge, and skills, but not attitudes, are significant predictors of RP. Also, that age does not significantly moderate the relationship between financial literacy and retirement preparedness. The chapter outlines practical implications for policymakers and financial educators in a developing country context.

Verbal Expression of Preparedness in Retirement Planning Interviews

Conceptualization of retirement requires interdisciplinary research, which is represented by psycholinguistic approach in the present paper. The study takes a first step to explore conceptualization of retirement by individuals with different levels of retirement preparedness. The study applies questionnaire Psychological Preparedness for Retirement (Zasiekina & Mahdysiuk, 2018) to assess levels of preparedness; semi-structured interviews to focus primarily on concerns related to planning postretirement period; Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) (Tausczik & Pennebaker, 2010) to reveal psychological categories and explore conceptualization of retirement. By the end of the assessment, data had been collected from 117 workers who were at preretirement period. The sample was weighted by age and occupation in order to improve its representative of the total population 22 (18.8%) – university staff, teachers at colleges, 18 (15.4%), nurses in kindergartens, 8 (6.6%), healthcare staff, 18 (15.4%), government officials, 28 (23.9%), workers from private sector, 23 (19.7%). The final weighted sample includes 65.8% females, average age 54.52, (SD=6.21). The results indicate that 8.5% respondents have a low level of preparedness, 61.5% - a medium level of preparedness and 30% - a high level of preparedness. Interestingly, the highest percentage of categories of affect and positive emotions were observed in the group with a medium level of preparedness, whereas the highest percentage of categories cause, focus on present, and family were captured in the group with a high level of preparedness. Taken together, these results suggest that the high level of retirement preparedness is associated with active cognitive reappraisal of retirement as a period of family activities.

Retirement Preparedness: How Important Is Being Financially Literate?

Financial security in retirement is a major concern for many Americans. Numerous studies document that Americans are not prepared for retirement, with financial illiteracy cited as one reason Americans fail to plan. Employing data from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study (N=27,091), this study investigates actual financial literacy (AFL) and perceived financial literacy (PFL) and how combinations of this measure influences retirement planning, and varies based on years from retirement. This study found relatively low financial literacy and retirement preparedness levels among the US sample, even for those pre-retirees ages 55 to 64. Individually, PFL and AFL increased as one approached retirement. When combined, adults nearing retirement (55 to 64) comprised the greatest proportion of the high AFL and high PFL (29.9%) group compared to adults 20 years or more from retirement (18-44) who largely made up the low AFL and PFL (48%) group. Based on a logistic regression, adults closest to retirement (ages 55 to 64) are more likely to be planning compared to the other groups, as are adults who were financially confident, risk takers, highly educated, males, and white. Compared to adults with high AFL and high PFL, adults with low AFL and low PFL, or a combination (low PFL and high AFL, high PFL and low AFL) have lower odds of preparing for retirement. Both PFL and AFL influences retirement planning, and PFL may be as important as AFL. Our highlight the importance of policies and programs to support Americans with retirement planning.

In the Red: Debt, Financial Well-Being, and Retirement Preparedness Among Older Adults

Over the past twenty years, total debt for Americans ages 70 and over has increased more relative to all other ages group- by 543% according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (2019). Higher rates of debt among older adults have been attributed to a range of factors including expanded access to consumer credit, the capability for people to borrow from 401(k) plans, increases in costs of living, and limited financial literacy, among others. Related research of adults nearing retirement age who carry debt points to delayed retirement timing, lower levels of retirement savings, and higher risk and rates of bankruptcy. This symposium introduces timely investigations of retirement planning and economic security among older adults with debt. The first presentation will provide an overview of the impact of financial hardship on health among older adults in the United States over a recent ten-year period. The second presentation will focus on over-indebtedness among pre-retirees. The third presentation will examine the role of safety net services and borrowing from retirement plans among older adults with debt, particularly among older adults of color. The fourth and final presentation will focus on student loan debt as a hurdle to near-term and long-term financial security for older women in particular. A discussant will comment on how, together, the aforementioned papers contribute to our understanding of economic wellbeing and retirement preparedness in this era of increasing longevity. The session will integrate policy and programming implications for gerontological professionals.