Abstract:

Introduction: A fundamental concern as one contemplates retirement is “will I have enough money on which to live?” This study, conducted in colleges of education in Ghana, investigated into gender influence on psychological planning and preparation towards retirement among tutors in Ghanaian Colleges of Education.

Methods: The study employed mixed-method sequential explanatory design. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 54 college tutors from two (2) colleges of education for the survey, while six (6) out of the 54 tutors were purposively sampled for interview. The data collected via self-developed questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.78) and semi-structured interview guide were analysed quantitatively using frequency count, percentage, and inferential statistics (independent samples test), and qualitatively through thematic analysis — responses from respondents were categorized into themes.

Results: The study found that most of the tutors were not psychologically ready for retirement. The study revealed a significant but marginal gender differences in psychological planning towards retirement among male and female tutors (p ≤ .05).

Conclusions: This study established the evidence of significant gender differences in psychological planning and preparation towards retirement among formal and informal sector workers, including college tutors. There is the need for teacher unions, employers and other stakeholders in Ghana to engage the services of professional financial services advisors and investment institutions to roll out financial investment schemes for tutors besides public pension schemes for a better secured post-retirement life.

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