A Study of Retirement Preparedness among Malaysian Female Millennials

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of financial literacy, financial stress, financial management practices, saving behaviour, household size and income adequacy, on Malaysian female millennials' retirement preparedness. A total of 268 questionnaires were self-administered and collected from Malaysian female millennials residing and working in the Klang Valley aged between 26 to 41 years old using a purposive stratified sampling method. Regression analyses were performed using SPSS software to determine the influence of variables investigated on retirement preparedness. Findings indicate that financial literacy level (β = 0.154, t-statistic = 2.669), financial stress level (β = 0.108, t-statistic = 2.207), saving behaviour (β = 0.281, t-statistic = 5.713) and household size (β = 0.242, t-statistic = 2.616), have significant positive effects on retirement preparedness. Income adequacy (β =-0.298, t-statistic =-2.595) on the other hand, is significantly and negatively associated with retirement preparedness, while financial management practices are found to have no influence. This study contributes to extant literature by examining the increasingly significant segment of the working population in our country. Hence, our findings should provide more insights to interested stakeholders in designing new or improving existing financial planning programs or mechanisms, particularly those related to retirement to better promote sound retirement planning among Malaysian female millennials.