Economists predict that in the coming decades an unprecedented number of American baby boomers will enter retirement lacking adequate resources. The present investigation was designed to examine the factors that influence individuals' financial preparedness for retirement. A total of 230 participants each completed a multifaceted questionnaire on their own personal retirement planning practices. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to examine the relationships among individuals' personality characteristics, their financial knowledge, and financial preparedness. The adopted structural model revealed that both personality constructs and financial knowledge were significant predictors of pre-retirement planning. The findings from this study have important implications for how educational and marketing efforts should be developed for individuals who are differentially prone toward saving.
This study can be found in the following publication: Hershey, Douglas and J. C. Mowen, Psychological Determinants of Financial Preparedness for Retirement, The Gerontologist, (6) 40, 2000, 687-697.
