Abstract
This three-wave study analyses the mediating role of financial behavior in the relationship between financial goals and retirement saving adequacy, and the moderating role of Death anxiety. The participants in the study (N = 276) were 40-plus Spanish clients of financial advisory firms. The results show that the relationship between financial goals and retirement saving adequacy is, in fact, mediated by financial behavior. We also found that death anxiety moderates the financial behavior-retirement saving adequacy relationship. The theoretical and practical implications of the study for design are discussed at the end of the paper.
Highlights
The proximity of death can be associated with feelings of fear and anxiety
Financial Behavior and Retirement Savings Adequacy were found to be positively and significantly related, while death anxiety was negatively related to education, professional status, and financial behavior but positively related to age, Financial Goals, and Retirement Savings positively and significantly related to Financial Behavior and Retirement Savings Adequacy
Financial Behavior and Retirement Savings Adequacy were found to be positively and significantly related, while death anxiety was negatively related to education, professional status, and financial behavior but positively related to age, Financial Goals, and Retirement Savings Adequacy
Summary
The proximity of death can be associated with feelings of fear and anxiety. Old age and other social indicators of life’s passing, like retirement, eventually oblige us all to address our own mortality. Research into the precursors of financial behavior has shown that people with clear, specific financial goals achieve enhanced levels of execution in practice (Stawski et al 2007). The influence of emotional factors and personal fears on financial behavior is becoming increasingly clear (Topa and Herrador-Alcaide 2016) Research in this area reveals how death anxiety can influence consumer behavior and financial decisions (Nepomuceno and Laroche 2016). In this light, we need to explore retirement savings adequacy and its relationship with financial behavior and financial goals. The present study includes three times of data collection: Time 1 (T1) Financial Goals and Death Anxiety; Time 2 (T2) Financial Behavior and Time 3 (T3) Retirement savings adequacy. The findings that could be obtained from this dataset will guide interventions to improve literacy and promote independence, wealth, health, and well-being among people from young adulthood to old age
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