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The authors herein carry out a literature review of retirement planning and highlights that proper retirement planning starts by looking at the level of income an individual is likely to continue receiving at retirement if they were to take no action, then comparing this to what they would need to lead the lifestyle they desire. The authors review the traditional economic theories that many are accustomed to when interpreting financial matters (i.e., rational behavior) and compares this to the various studies and articles found in literature. The authors then dig into retirement planning in Malta and the behavioral obstacles to proper planning and how these are tackled in different European countries.

In this chapter our objective was to gain an understanding of what affects Maltese individuals’ behaviors when it comes to retirement planning. Given that longevity is on the increase, state pension income is limited (and most probably unsustainable over the long term) and that many individuals expect to be able to enjoy a comfortable retirement, it sets out to determine which macro- and micro-environmental factors are likely to encourage positive behavior or otherwise.

We did this by consulting and analyzing existing literature in chapter 8 of this book and designing an online survey which was specifically created to capture qualitative data about public sentiment and behaviors with respect to retirement planning.

The study identifies a general sense of confusion in relation to financial concepts related to retirement. In line with other countries’ findings, the prevalence of myopia, procrastination and inertia has also been observed through the research undertaken.

Through established behavioral finance theories and literature, as well as actual European practical examples, the research explores the best ways of “nudging” people into recognizing the importance of acting and making the right long-term financial decisions, to their own benefit and to that of society.

Notwithstanding, that overall savings of the Maltese are around the average established for Europe, the study found that savings tend to be shorter term, and therefore insignificant when considering the actual requirements for the desired quality of life at retirement. The research showed how, as with other countries, behavioral biases have been limiting people from acting or making the right choices.

Of the most prominent of behaviors, procrastination, myopia, and inertia were observed. In the local market, these seemed to stem from a sense of disorientation as to the meaning of certain concepts, how to initiate the process and which actions to take. In fact, although many did not admit it outright, respondents showed low levels of confidence in their abilities, and avoid acting out of fear that it may not be the right choice. At the same time, they would try to rationalize their lack of action by the premise that things would sort themselves out, although this is typically labeled as overconfidence, it is likely to be an attempt to feel better about their stance on the matter.

It has been widely projected in the library literature that a substantial number of librarians will retire in the near future leaving significant gaps in the workforce, especially in library leadership. Many of those concerned with organizational development in libraries have promoted succession planning as an essential tool for addressing this much-anticipated wave of retirements. The purpose of this chapter is to argue that succession planning is the wrong approach for academic libraries. This chapter provides a review of the library literature on succession planning, as well as studies analyzing position announcements in librarianship which provide evidence as to the extent to which academic librarianship has changed in recent years. In a review of the library literature, the author found no sound explanation of why succession planning is an appropriate method for filling anticipated vacancies and no substantive evidence that succession planning programs in libraries are successful. Rather than filling anticipated vacancies with librarians prepared to fill specific positions by means of a succession planning program, the author recommends that academic library leaders should focus on the continual evaluation of current library needs and future library goals, and treat each vacancy as an opportunity to create a new position that will best satisfy the strategic goals of the library. In contrast to the nearly universal support for succession planning found in the library literature, this chapter offers a different point of view.

This chapter explores whether and how does the interplay of institutional context and management interventions lead older workers to delay retirement in Germany, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. The most important factors that influence retirement plans are placed on three analytical levels: the individual, the workplace and the institutional levels. It explores the importance of these factors and their cross-national variation in three different countries, namely Germany, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. Using three national datasets we explore the relationship between the aforementioned factors via descriptive statistics and linear regression models. Institutional regulations seem to matter for retirement plans. But within countries, plans show varying patterns across social groups (lower educated, financially disadvantaged). The comparative design does not allow analysing specific institutional features directly, but findings are indicative for the fact that individuals take institutional frameworks into account when planning retirement transitions. The findings call for regime-specific solutions and future policies, for example, age-friendly workplace conditions and opportunities for requalification and mobility in Germany, rising retirement ages and greater financial security via more generous universal pension rights in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

One of the most critical issues facing many industrialized countries is the lack of retirement savings among many individuals. Unfortunately, this lacking can have dire consequences for both consumers and societies in the coming years. Because of this, numerous research studies have been conducted in many disciplines such as economics, psychology, finance, and some in marketing and a number of recommendations or solutions have been made to try to address this critical issue. Yet, despite all this interest, the problem still exists and may even have become worse. In the current chapter, we examine this crisis from a consumer behavior perspective in order to derive new insights and offer additional and hopefully effective solutions to supplement previous efforts.

Given the ongoing attention surrounding public sector defined benefit pensions, the participating plan sponsors such as local units of government may be tempted to reduce their future pension liabilities, possibly at the expense of their former employees. Alternatively, public sector employees may act to withdraw their pension contributions if they have concerns related to the sustainability of their employer's pension plan. Nonvested, terminated employees have the option of leaving their contributions on account or taking them as a distribution in the form of a rollover to a qualifying retirement account, or a cash-out. Because a cash distribution carries with it the potential for retirement savings ‘leakage,’ it continues to be of public concern.

This study contributes to the literature by examining determinants of the distribution decisions of terminated employees and is first to specifically explore the association of pension funding levels as a determinant of such decision. Decisions of 46,608 employees who separated employment between 2010 and 2013 were examined. The results suggest that a decrease in the employer's pension funding is associated with increased probability that the terminated employee will take a refund of their contributions. Additionally, the data reveal that 88% of the terminating employees who took a refund requested to receive it in the form of a cash-out, totaling about $38 million of cash distributions. Lastly, about 1,000 of those employees each cashed out more than $8,000, thus suggesting the pension leakage problem warrants further research and perhaps policy changes.

Financing retirement is an important aspect of later life that is related to overall healthy living and wellbeing. Very little is known about the attitudes of people towards their individual future retirement plans, accrued savings or even finances once they are into old age. There are no comparative studies across geographical regions that may help with understanding the complex behaviour of individuals and social norms. This chapter examines how life in retirement in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong is financed while also capturing regional disparities. This study uses data collected from primary sources in both territories. Quantitative analysis was carried out in order to answer key research questions. The findings suggest that employees plan to work longer than their actual retirement age and are not prepared for retirement whereas educated and higher income groups generally have savings plans in place to finance their later lives. These findings have significant implications for organisations and policy makers.

There has been a growing interest amongst academics, researchers employers and governments/policymakers on ageing workplaces and workforces. As populations age and pension ages rise, older workers are finding themselves having to delay or postpone their retirement and organisations are looking for ways to enable them to do so in sustainable work. Workplace ageing is impacting both European and Asian societies and governments and employers are taking nationally specific approaches to age-related human resource management, social and public policies. In Europe, national governments are being led by the European Union in developing social and public policies to support older workers in maintaining employment through lifelong learning, flexible working, health management and job rotation. Tiger economies have focused on the ‘working pensioner’ pension rules which enable older workers to phase into retirement. China is facing rapid ageing but still maintains early retirement as a way to help older workers move out of physically and mentally demanding work. In addition to providing an outline for the remainder of the book, we also present a survey of older employees undertaken in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong which explores experiences in work, workplace relationships, skills and retirement plans. The survey is used as a common resource for the remaining chapters.

To what extent do couples expect to retire together? What distinguishes “atypical congruent” couples who expect to retire separately? What distinguishes “non-congruent” couples who disagree on retirement plans? Using U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data, we find that “Atypical Congruent” (separate retirement) couples have shorter marriages, larger age differences, unequal decision-making, dependent children, and pension plans for both husband and wife. They are also more frequently interracial or minority couples. “Non-Congruent” couples (who disagree on retirement plans) are distinguished by wife's earnings and husband's occupational status and work schedule.