Why do academics fail to plan for retirement? Employers' and employees' views

Studies have shown that early and informed retirement planning lead to a successful retirement transition, and adjustments. Despite this fact, it has been widely reported that most of employees inadequately plan for their retirement. Existing empirical evidence provides limited information on barriers which affect academics' retirement planning in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Tanzania. Informed by the Life Course Perspective Theory, the present study qualitatively explored the retirement planning barriers from perspectives of the academics and their employers in four purposefully selected universities in Tanzania. The focused group discussions (FGDs) and semi-structured interviews were employed to generate data from the participants. The thematic approach guided data analysis and interpretations. The study revealed seven barriers which affect retirement planning among academics in higher education. These include: Limited knowledge of retirement planning, lack of investment management skills and experience, failure to prioritize expenditure, attitude towards retirement, financial constraints due to extended family needs, retirement policies and legal reforms, and limited time to supervise investments. Based on the findings, the study provides recommendations to address personal, cultural and systemic barriers in order to support academics' successful transition to retirement.