Multidimensional retirement planning behaviors, retirement confidence, and post-retirement health and well-being among Chinese older adults in Hong Kong

Abstract

Maintaining health and well-being in later life is becoming increasingly crucial because of rapid population aging and prolonged years in retirement. Retirement planning may effectively enhance retirement preparedness and confidence and contribute to better post-retirement outcomes. The present study aimed to examine Hong Kong aging adults' engagement in multidimensional retirement planning activities, their retirement confidence, as well as the mediating effects of retirement confidence on the relationships between retirement planning and health and subjective well-being (i.e., physical health, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction). Face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from 630 retirees aged 50 years and over. The results showed that retirement planning both directly and indirectly influenced physical health, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction through retirement confidence. Among the four planning subdomains (i.e., financial, health, social life, and psychological planning), health, social life, and psychological planning were found to have positive impacts on physical health and life satisfaction through increased retirement confidence levels, while only social life planning influenced depressive symptoms through retirement confidence. Retirement planning in financial domain was not correlated with retirement confidence but could directly benefit life satisfaction in retirement. The findings reveal the need for the policymakers and service providers to improve public education to raise future retirees' awareness of the importance of retirement planning and promote retirement planning activities, especially social life planning.