Relationship between Access to Retirement Information and Retirement Preparation among Prospective Retirees in Nyeri County, Kenya

Abstract

Retirement comes with numerous which may lead to post-retirement poverty especially in developing countries. Although most Kenyan workers in formal employment are expected to be members of a pension scheme, many Kenyan employees do not have access to retirement planning information. This study aimed at finding out how retirement information influences retirement preparation among 370 prospective retirees aged 50 and above from both the private and public sector in Nyeri County, Kenya. Data collection was done using a questionnaire. The study sought to determine if there was a relationship between access to retirement information and level of retirement preparation and whether prospective retirees in the public and private sectors differed regarding their retirement preparation. The results show a moderate negative correlation (r (368) = -0.402, p < 0.01) between access to retirement information and level of retirement preparation indicating a significant linear relationship between the two variables. A t-test comparing the means for retirement preparation for prospective retirees in the two sectors indicate a significant difference between the two groups (t (369) =69.641, p<0.05). The mean of the prospective retirees in the private sector (m= 14.1, sd =3.6) was significantly higher than the mean of prospective retirees form the public sector (m=12.6, sd=3.6). The implication is that private sector employees were better prepared for retirement than their public sector counterparts. In addition, more prospective retirees from the private sector had access to retirement information between than those in the public sector. The results indicate that both the public and sectors need to do more in sensitizing and motivating employees to prepare early for their retirement.