DETERMINANTS OF RETIREMENT ADJUSTMENT AND SATISFACTION OF RETIREES IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF GHANA

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to develop a questionnaire instrument having six underlying constructs, and to then use it to predict retirement adjustment and satisfaction. Economic, health, social and psychological variables were used as the Independent Variables to predict retirement adjustment and retirement satisfaction as the Dependent Variables. Designed as a descriptive survey using inferential analyses and purposive sampling by the snowball method, three research questions and three hypotheses were tested using a 33- item questionnaire on 550 retirees in Ghana‘s Central Region. Results of the study were that all the three null hypotheses were rejected for their alternate hypotheses. The conclusion of the study was that economic, social and psychological domains are significant factors in determining overall adjustment whilst economic, health, social and psychological factors are significant in determining satisfaction of Ghanaian retirees. The social determinant emerged as the single most significant factor in determining retiree adjustment and satisfaction. A locally derived questionnaire instrument is thus available for Ghanaian counsellors who may use it for developing preretiree counselling workshops and for counselling retirees in helping them adjust and gain satisfaction in their retirement condition. It was recommended that Confirmatory Factor Analysis be done to validate the instrument alongside other specific variables in confirming the underlying constructs.