The role of job-related rewards in retirement planning

The authors used data from the first wave of the Health and Retirement Study ( F. Juster and R. Suzman 1995) to evaluate whether certain job-related gratifications might reduce retirement planning. Three definitions of retirement planning were evaluated and then regressed separately on a set of variables that included 3 types of job-related satisfactions (intrinsic gratification, positive social relations, and ascendance in the workplace) and 7 covariates: education, age, sex, health, marital status, race, and pension eligibility. Findings indicated that jobs high in ascendance were related to an increase in certain types of retirement planning, but jobs high in intrinsic rewards and positive social relations were related to less planning, regardless of how planning was defined. The findings suggest that information about work-related rewards may be useful in targeting individuals who might benefit from retirement planning programs, in developing planning programs to help workers realize more complex retirement plans, and in assisting employers who hope to retain older workers.