Does Having Ageist Attitudes in The Middle Aged Affect The Process of Retirement Planning?

Abstract

Objectives: It is important to be prepared for retirement period for an active, healthy and productive old age. The process of retirement planning, which gains importance in conjunction with gradually aging of societies, could be affected by many personal and environmental factors. In this study, it was aimed to investigate whether ageist attitudes in the middle aged affect the retirement planning process.
Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted with workers in Turkey. Forty-five women (54.9%) and 37 men (45.1%) with a mean age of 46.03 ± 6.00 years (Min. 40- Max. 62) participated in the study. “The Process of Retirement Planning Scale” and “The Ageism Attitude Scale” were used as outcome measures.
Results: The results indicated that the individuals who have ageist attitudes had more planning their post-retirement lifestyle, psychosocial process and health (p<.05). Retirement planning behavior varied according to working duration, education level and income level (p<.05).
Conclusion: Ageist attitudes in the middle aged, even though seems to be one of the motivational sources of retirement planning behavior, might affect negatively to feasible and optimal planning, and post-retirement adaptation. Professionals delivering pre-retirement training might need to identify ageism and to plan appropriate programs.

Keywords

• Retirement
• ageism
• attitude
• middle aged

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