Search results

Research to date has reported ambiguous results on the influence of tax concessions on retirement savings decisions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of tax concessions on private retirement investment decisions by analyzing actual retirement decision processes and the rationales behind these decisions in‐depth.

Qualitative semi‐structured interviews on actual retirement savings decisions were conducted with private investors (17) and their respective bank advisors (5). Decision‐making rationales are analysed by means of semantic and causal coding of verbal data as well as by highlighting the complexities of decision processes represented in individual investment narratives.

Results indicate that taxes do not matter much, neither during the decision to join a private retirement plan, nor when choosing a specific investment product. Financial planning for retirement consists of saving disposable income instead of the required savings premium and choosing a secure type of investment which yields more than a savings account. Savers do not base their decisions on calculating and comparing rates of return or tax benefits. Instead, comparatively unqualified relatives as well as bank advisors and the desire for trust and security are of major relevance.

The generalization of results is limited in so far as they refer to a relatively small interview sample. The study shall thus prompt further research that takes the decision‐making context and the interrelation between several context factors systematically into account.

The study is of value in that it highlights the difficulties private investors' experience when making actual – rather than hypothetical – retirement savings decisions and the rationales behind seemingly “imperfect” decisions. It shows that retirement savings decisions are heavily linked with the social decision‐making context. These results are closely linked to the recent debate on “responsibilization”, critical perspectives on the tendency of states to hold individuals increasingly accountable for aspects of market governance and social security.

Drawing on broaden-and-build theory and promotion- and prevention-focus theory, the authors examined the role of positive and negative affectivity (PANA) on the riskiness of investment decisions. The authors also examined the mediating impact of financial knowledge network intensity (i.e. the level of communication with financially literate others in employees' social network) on the PANA—riskiness of investment decisions relationship.

Study 1 used a sample of undergraduate students and operationalized risk using a hypothetical investment scenario. Study 2 replicated and extended the Study 1 findings using employees and operationalized risk using their real-world investment allocations.

Both Studies 1 and 2 provided support for the negative direct relationship between NA and the riskiness of investment decisions. Study 2 found PA was marginally positively related to the riskiness of investment decisions. Financial knowledge network intensity mediated the relationship between NA and the riskiness of investment decisions in Study 2.

The findings suggest that employees who see the world in a generally negative light tended to have weaker financial knowledge networks, and this may be one mechanism that explains why they make low-risk investments.

Financial knowledge networks can provide access to critical information regarding investment opportunities. Socialization training or social mixers can be used to help employees build and improve their financial knowledge networks.

The authors integrate the research on PANA, social networks, and investment decisions to illuminate the social network processes that explain how affectivity impacts the riskiness of retirement investment decisions.

This study aims to examine the effect of future time perspective (FTP), financial risk tolerance (FRT) and knowledge of financial planning for retirement (KFPR) on retirement saving behavior (RSB).

Primary data were collected using a non-probability judgmental sampling technique. A questionnaire was distributed either manually (by hand) or through email where 370 United Arab Emirates (UAE) residents used in the higher education sector participated. The data analysis was obtained by using SPSS and Smart-PLS software. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the linear relationship between FTP, FRT, KFPR and RSB.

The findings from this study are consistent with previous research. FTP and KFPR had a significant positive effect, while FRT had an insignificant negative effect on RSB.

This study examined the effect of a few psychological variables on RSB and was conducted on a sample of university employees in the UAE. Additional research should examine environmental influences, individual differences and other psychological process factors. Furthermore, future research could extend the current study into other industries and other the Middle East and North Africa countries.

A better understanding of the factors that influence RSB can help working individuals, financial advisors/financial planning professionals, financial institutions and government/policymakers strengthen their understanding and initiatives toward retirement planning.

To the best of the authors knowledge, none of the previous research papers studied RSB in the UAE. Additionally, it is important to note that the results of this study can be generalized to all Gulf Cooperation Council countries because of the similar economic, political, ethical, social and cultural factors.

The purpose of this paper is to holistically study barriers in the path of implementation of retirement planning, as the need is increasing with decrease in mortality. The proper retirement planning can be one of the most important tools to control financial expenses on healthcare and welfare on old age population in government budgets.

The paper is a blend of theoretical framework and practical application and uses interpretive structural modeling (ISM) analysis to draw linkage and impact of identified barriers in the path of achievement of goals of retirement planning. The study has used three different research phases: identification of barriers from the literature, interviews with experts of industry at second stage and designing an ISM impact matrix cross-reference multiplication model. The identification phase led to the selection of 15 factors from past literature and by suggestion from industrial experts.

This study seeks to identify which barrier is acting as the most dominant one for the mass adoption of retirement planning and this result is helpful for policymakers to remove the dominant barrier. The result of this analysis can make retirement planning easy by elimination of highlighted barriers on the basis of their importance in the path of achievement of retirement goals. In the ISM level diagram, barriers such as marital status, number of financial dependents at the bottom, gender, income level, educational level, financial literacy, financial dependency, policy regulation, terms and conditions, goal clarity and psychological and cultural factors are on the top. Barrier of macroeconomic and bureaucratic impediments are also very important factors for achievement of retirement goal of an individual, but they cannot be controlled directly by the associated members of industry.

The concern for providing sufficient retirement resources is growing with the increase in life expectancy for human beings. Such requirement has attracted views from not only academicians but also policymakers. This paper is one of the preliminary attempts to identify barriers in implementation of retirement planning and rank them according to their importance.

Deferred annuities, which offer longevity insurance with relatively low premiums, are a potential payout option in defined contribution (DC) pension plans in Japan. This study aims to measure individual preferences for these annuities.

This study conducts stated choice experiments using an original internet survey. This methodology provides a decision-making scenario similar to that faced by individuals when making real retirement saving decisions. Subjective valuations of deferred, immediate and term annuities are compared.

This study finds that male individuals have an insignificant preference for deferred annuities – the benefits of which begin at an advanced age. On average, deferred annuities are considered a gamble, betting against life and individuals who are married and have higher financial assets tend to value them less.

While previous studies, based on theory and simulations, have found that deferred annuities should be included in individual retirement assets, this study examines annuity preferences from the demand side (i.e. DC plan participants) –an approach that has not been addressed in the literature.

The purpose of this study is to identify arrangements of fully funded defined contribution (FF-DC) pension plans associated with the continuity of retirement savings.

The authors adopted an experimental design composed of a control group and two treatment groups. In all groups, individuals made decisions throughout nine periods: five during the working period and four at the postretirement stage. The authors asked participants if they wanted to join a pension plan, and which plan. The authors offered three plans with different risk profiles: plan 1 (high risk), plan 2 (moderate) and plan 3 (low risk) and one risk-free plan, plan 4. In treatment groups 1 and 2, there was an automatic enrollment of the participants in the default plan (moderate risk), and in the following periods they had to decide whether to continue contributing, and in this case, to which plan, with a defined percentage.

In treatment scenarios, participants chose the riskiest plan in all periods of the experiment, and most of them chose the risk-free plan in period 5. These findings suggest that pension plans with automatic enrollment, employer matching and low risk foster the continuation of retirement savings.

The research has as limitation the fact that the sample is not representative of the population and therefore does not allow generalizations. This is because the authors use social media ads to prospect respondents.

The research's findings can be relevant for the design of public policies for private pension plans, suggesting that compulsory automatic enrollment can be used as default in plans offered by the employers. The results encourage the inclusion of behavioral elements in the design of the pension system, paying attention to the nudges. In this sense, it is possible to increase participation in the pension plan and develop low cost programs to increase the amount accumulated by people before retirement.

Decision-making architecture, such as automatic enrollment, can improve individuals' retirement decisions, affecting savings and welfare in the long run.

Although the effect of pension plan designs is widely studied in other countries, such as the United States and United Kingdom, the authors are unaware of a national empirical research that seeks to understand how different arrangements affect an individual choice through an experiment.

There has been a great deal of exploratory, conceptual and empirical research on digital financial literacy (DFL) in the fields of finance, economics, business and management. But up until now, there has not been any attempt to provide a thorough scientific mapping of the area. Therefore, by combining various knowledge systems, this study seeks to identify the current research trend.

A sample of 158 papers was subjected to bibliometric analysis in the areas of DFL or digital finance. Assembling, organising and evaluating are the three phases that make up the bibliometric analysis process derived from the most dependable and genuine sources, the Scopus database, and the Web of Science (WoS) database. This study was done using a scientific search technique on the Scopus and WoS databases for the years 2015 through 2022. The study made use of Biblioshiny, a web-based tool created in R-studio and part of the Bibliometrix package. Prominent journals, authors, nations, articles and themes were identified with the use of the software's automated workflow. “Citation, co-citation, and social network analysis” were also carried out.

The study' outcomes indicate that, as an interdisciplinary discipline, the themes of digital finance have changed throughout time. Researchers first concentrated on socioeconomic and demographic variables, but over time the subject expanded to include themes like influencing, promoting, and behavioural factors that affect digital financial literacy (DFL). This research shows the conceptual framework of the area in addition to its intellectual and social structure. This study offers crucial insights into subjects that demand more research.

Since the current study is a bibliometric analysis, the usual restrictions on such studies apply. A meta-analysis, a thorough literature review and other methods would be beneficial for future researchers to develop a solid conceptual framework. This current research work's science mapping is restricted to the Scopus and WoS databases because this research includes more high-quality articles and has organised formats that work with the Bibliometrix application.

Present research provides critical insights into saving behaviour, retirement planning, digital finance and the interdependence of these. This research highlights the most prevalent problems in the field and points in the direction of potential areas for further study. Exposing the social and intellectual structure of the domain educates upcoming scholars about the themes, contexts and opportunities for collaboration in this field.

The study will be useful for future learning as the study gives broad exposure to the current literature in the field of digital finance. On the other hand, people will also grow aware of the effects of digital finance and make the proper choices as a result. Additionally, the report might offer crucial insights for developing policies on digital finance and literacy.

In the past, a significant number of conceptual and empirical studies were conducted internationally in the research fields of economics, finance, business, management and consumer behaviour. This research makes a significant addition by bringing together disparate literature in the field, highlighting reliable sources, authors and documents, and examining the relationship between digital finance, saving behaviour and retirement planning.

This study aims to understand the drivers that help working adults to be better prepared for retirement, by examining the relationship between financial literacy (FL), financial attitude (FA), financial well-being (FWB), financial behavior (FB) and retirement preparation (RP). RP includes multidimensional measures, which are retirement confidence, retirement planning, long-term financial planning and private retirement schemes (PRS) participation.

This was a quantitative study adopting non-probability sampling with self-administered questionnaire distributed to all working adults. Descriptive analysis was used to examine the 294 useable data, and the multiple logistic regression analysis was adopted for hypothesis testing.

The empirical results show that FB is positively associated with RP and then followed by FWB on retirement confidence. Although insignificant influence is found on FL and FA, better FL and FA will still improve individuals' RP.

The study provides insights to working adults that practicing positive FB and good FWB will improve RP. Besides, for financial institutions, income level is the main determinant for consumers to participate in PRS; for policy makers, to incorporate financial attributes knowledge as part of the school curriculum since early school years.

This study is one of the few studies in Malaysia that explored FL, FA, FB and FWB on retirement planning, respectively.

Following behavioral finance and monetary wisdom, the authors theorize: Decision-makers (investors) adopt deep-rooted personal values (the love-of-money attitudes/avaricious financial aspirations) as a lens to frame critical concerns (short-term and long-term investment decisions) in the immediate-proximal (current income) and distal-omnibus (future inheritance) contexts to maximize expected utility and ultimate serenity across context, people and time.

The authors collected data from 277 active equity traders (professional money managers and individual investors) in Pakistan’s two most robust investment hubs—Karachi and Lahore. The authors measured their love-of-money attitude (avaricious monetary aspirations), short-term and long-term investment decisions and demographic variables and collected data during Pakistan's bear markets (Pakistan Stock Exchange, PSX-100).

Investors’ love of money relates to short-term and long-term decisions. However, these relationships are significant for money managers but non-significant for individual investors. Further, investors’ current income moderates this relationship for short-term investment decisions but not long-term decisions. The intensity of the aspirations-to-short-term investment relationship is much higher for investors with low-income levels than those with average and high-income levels. Future inheritance moderates the relationships between aspirations and short-term and long-term decisions. Regardless of their love-of-money orientations, investors with future inheritance have higher magnitudes of short-term and long-term investments than those without future inheritance. The intensity of the aspirations-to-investments relationship is more potent for investors without future inheritance than those with inheritance. Investors with low avaricious monetary aspirations and without inheritance expectations show the lowest short-term and long-term investment decisions. Investors' current income and future inheritance moderate the relationships between their love of money attitude and short-term and long-term decisions differently in Pakistan's bear markets.

The authors help investors make financial decisions and help financial institutions, asset management companies, brokerage houses and investment banks identify marketing strategies and investor segmentation and provide individualized services.

Professional money managers have a stronger short-term orientation than individual investors. Lack of wealth (current income and future inheritance) motivates greedy investors to take more risks and become more vulnerable than non-greedy ones—investors’ financial resources and wealth matter. The Matthew Effect in investment decisions exists in Pakistan’s emerging economy.

This paper aims to identify the variables responsible for classifying the investors into risk takers (RT) and risk avoiders (RA) across their economic perspectives.

The research offers a novel and unobtrusive measure of classifying investors into RT and RA based on a set of financial risk tolerance (FRT) questions. The authors have investigated the causes of discrimination across economic perspectives over a sample of 552 investors exposed to market risk.

The authors identify that out of the total of 11 risk assessment variables, only three are responsible for classifying investors into RA and RT. The variables are risk return trade-off, comfort level dealing with risk, and understanding short-term volatility. Financial literacy is considered as an emerging cause of discrimination. Further, the authors highlight the most striking finding to be the discriminating factors across wealth and source of income of the investors.

Existing research on FRT can be loosely segregated into three groups: the relationship between an individual's financial and non-FRT, estimation of FRT score (FRTS), and perceived self-assessed FRTS. The current research roughly falls into the third category of study where the authors have not only studied the self-assessed risk tolerance but also evaluated the predictors. Most of the studies have focussed on estimating self-assessed FRT with the help of one direct question to the respondent. However, the uniqueness of this study is that the researchers have used an instrument comprising a series of direct and indirect questions that can easily estimate the self-assessed risk perception and also discriminate the role of the economic factors that have any impact on self-assessed FRTS.