Longitudinal trajectories of financial retirement planning of baby boomer women: The role of demographic characteristics and attitudes toward retirement

With increasing numbers of women baby boomer retirees in the U.S., the issue of lack of financial security after retirement due to limited resources has begun to draw attention in policy and research areas. However, few studies have focused on the predictors of financial retirement planning. The purpose of this study includes the following: (1) to examine relations between demographic characteristics and attitudes toward retirement and financial retirement planning of baby boomer women, and (2) to examine the longitudinal trajectories of financial retirement planning of baby boomer women, and to identify the roles of demographic characteristics and attitudes toward retirement in predicting those trajectories. It was hypothesized that the rates of financial retirement planning increase over time, but the rates of financial retirement planning vary across individuals and time. Specifically, it was hypothesized that demographic variables and attitudes toward retirement relate to the rates of financial retirement planning across time. This study utilized data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women at the National Science Foundation (NSF). Among 22 waves of the data set, four recent surveys (1995, 1997, 1999, and 2001) were utilized for the current study. Sample sizes of cross-sectional analysis and longitudinal analysis were 2,146 and 1,250, respectively. The mean age was 45.32 (SD = 2.23, range = 42-49) at the first time. The results demonstrated that race/ethnicity, educational attainment, marital status, and annual income of baby boomer women were significantly related to their financial retirement planning. Also, positive attitudes toward retirement were associated with higher rates of financial retirement planning. Moreover, longitudinal analyses demonstrated that individual changes in marital status and in income level significantly related to financial retirement planning over time. KEY WORDS: Financial Retirement Planning, Baby Boomer Women, Demographic Characteristic, Attitudes toward Retirement, Longitudinal Stud