Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Retirement concerns and planning of cooperative members: a study in the Dutch healthcare sector

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Business Economics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Retirement planning is a key component in achieving goals and fulfilling expectations. Although several socioeconomic and psychological factors associated with retirement planning have been reported in the literature, little is known about the influence that specific retirement-related issues have on retirement planning. We examine the influence of five concerns—the individual’s financial situation, living situation, care provision, health condition, and loneliness—on retirement planning. In addition, we investigate the influence of these concerns on individuals’ perceptions of their ideal post-retirement situations in terms of financial standards. Our dataset is derived from a 2010 web-based survey of the care and well-being sector in the Netherlands.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Report of the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS), http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?vw=t&dm=slen&pa=03766eng&la=en.

  2. The 2008 financial crisis had a severe impact on Dutch pension funds, as approximately 80% of all funds’ coverage ratios fell below 105% (Høj 2011). In all, 68 Dutch pension funds have announced pension cuts since April 1, 2013, according to the Dutch regulator.

  3. OECD report, http://www.oecd.org/els/public-pensions/PAG2013-profile-Netherlands.pdf.

  4. http://ec.europa.eu/health/workforce/docs/staff_working_doc_healthcare_workforce_en.pdf.

  5. The five items load onto a single factor. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure is 0.73. The p value for Bartlett's test of sphericity is 0.

  6. Table 5 in Appendix 2.

  7. Table 6 in Appendix 2.

References

  • Ameriks, J., A. Caplin, and J. Leahy. 2003. Wealth accumulation and the propensity to plan. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 118 (3): 1007–1047.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Attanasio, O.P. 1999. Consumption (Chapter 11). In Handbook of macroeconomics, ed. J.B. Taylor and M. Woodford. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayer, P.J., B.D. Bernheim, and J.K. Scholz. 2009. The effects of financial education in the workplace: Evidence from a survey of employers. Economic Inquiry 47 (4): 605–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernheim, B.D., and D.M. Garrett. 2003. The effects of financial education in the workplace: Evidence from a survey of households. Journal of Public Economics 87 (7): 1487–1519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernheim, B.D., D.M. Garrett, and D.M. Maki. 2001. Education and saving: The long-term effects of high school financial curriculum mandates. Journal of Public Economics 80 (3): 435–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Binswanger, J., and K.G. Carman. 2012. How real people make long-term decisions: The case of retirement preparation. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 81 (1): 39–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Browning, M., and A. Lusardi. 1996. Household saving: Micro theories and micro facts. Journal of Economic Literature 34: 1797–1855.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, R.L., M.S. Morrill, and S.G. Allen. 2012. The role of financial literacy in determining retirement plans. Economic Inquiry 50 (4): 851–866.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dvorak, T., and H. Hanley. 2010. Financial literacy and the design of retirement plans. The Journal of Socio-Economics 39 (6): 645–652.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Earl, J.K., T.C. Bednall, and A.M. Muratore. 2015. A matter of time: Why some people plan for retirement and others do not. Work, Aging and Retirement 1 (2): 181–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ewisk, C. 2005. Reform of occupational pensions in the Netherlands. De Economist 153 (3): 331–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fichtner, J.J. 2018. Global aging and public finance. Business Economics 53 (2): 72–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hershey, D.A., K. Henkens, and H.P. van Dalen. 2007a. Mapping the minds of retirement planners: A cross-cultural perspective. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 38 (3): 361–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hershey, D.A., K. Henkens, and H.P. van Dalen. 2010. What drives retirement income worries in Europe? A multilevel analysis. European Journal of Ageing 7 (4): 301–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hershey, D.A., J.M. Jacobs-Lawson, J.J. McArdle, and F. Hamagami. 2007b. Psychological foundations of financial planning for retirement. Journal of Adult Development 14 (1–2): 26–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hershey, D.A., and J.C. Mowen. 2000. Psychological determinants of financial preparedness for retirement. The Gerontologist 40 (6): 687–697.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Høj, J. 2011. Making the Dutch pension system less vulnerable to financial crises. OECD Economics Department Working Paper No. 832, OECD Publishing. http://ideas.repec.org/p/oec/ecoaaa/832-en.html. Accessed 1 Feb 2013.

  • Holland, J., E. Leamer, and A. Rivlin. 2018. Perspectives on U.S. fiscal policy. Business Economics 53 (3): 124–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M.A., and D.J. Lamdin. 2015. Gauging the financial capability of Americans. Business Economics 50 (3): 135–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knoll, M.A.Z. 2010. Role of behavioral economics and behavioral decision making in Americans’ retirement savings decisions. Social Security Bulletin 70: 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lusardi, A., and O. Mitchell. 2007a. Financial literacy and retirement preparedness: Evidence and implications for financial education. Business Economics 42 (1): 35–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lusardi, A., and O.S. Mitchell. 2007b. Baby boomer retirement security: The roles of planning, financial literacy, and housing wealth. Journal of Monetary Economics 54 (1): 205–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lusardi, A., and O.S. Mitchell. 2007c. Financial literacy and retirement planning: New evidence from the rand American life panel, No. 2007/33, Center for Financial Studies (CFS). https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/cfswop/200733.html. Accessed 8 July 2018.

  • Muratore, A.M., and J.K. Earl. 2010. Predicting retirement preparation through the design of a new measure. Australian Psychologist 45 (2): 98–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owen, A., and S. Wu. 2007. Financial shocks and worry about the future. Empirical Economics 33 (3): 515–530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pino, A., and J. Yermo. 2010. The impact of the 2007-2009 crisis on social security and private pension funds: A threat to their financial soundness? International Social Security Review 63 (2): 5–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ponds, E., and B. Van Riel. 2009. Sharing risk: The Netherlands’ new approach to pensions. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance 8 (01): 91–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Rooij, M.C.J., C.J.M. Kool, and H.M. Prast. 2007. Risk-return preferences in the pension domain: Are people able to choose? Journal of Public Economics 91 (3–4): 701–722.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Rooij, M.C.J., A. Lusardi, and R.J.M. Alessie. 2011. Financial literacy and retirement planning in the Netherlands. Journal of Economic Psychology 32 (4): 593–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Rooij, M.C.J., A. Lusardi, and R.J.M. Alessie. 2012. Financial literacy, retirement planning and household wealth. The Economic Journal 122 (560): 449–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, M.A., and M. Schaffer. 2012. Planning and adaptation to retirement: The post-retirement enviroment, change management resources, and need-oriented factors as moderators. In The Oxford handbook of retirement, ed. M. Wang. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thaler, R.H., and C.R. Sunstein. 2008. Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness, 1st ed. Yale: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the editor, Charles Steindel, and two anonymous referees for heir valuable comments that helped to improve this paper. The authors are also grateful to Edward Groenland and Susan Bruning van der Werf for their valuable assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nyenrode Business Universiteit, Straatweg 25, P.O. Box 130, 3620 AC, Breukelen, The Netherlands

    George Apostolakis

  2. Department of Economics, University of Crete, Rethymno Campus, 74100, Rethymno, Greece

    George Apostolakis

  3. Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Gert Van Dijk

  4. TIAS School for Business and Society, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Gert Van Dijk

  5. Centre for Entrepreneurship, Governance & Stewardship, Nyenrode Business Universiteit, Breukelen, The Netherlands

    Gert Van Dijk

Authors
  1. George Apostolakis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gert Van Dijk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to George Apostolakis.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Factor analysis

See Table 4.

Table 4 Factor analysis of the aggregate retirement concern variable
Full size table

Appendix 2: Sensitivity analysis

See Tables 5 and 6.

Table 5 Regression results of retirement planning using a logit model
Full size table
Table 6 Regression results of retirement planning using an ordered logit model and a sample from a 2012 survey
Full size table

Appendix 3: Questionnaire

3.1 Retirement thinking (Single choice)

Do you ever think about your retirement situation?

[ ] Yes, very often

[ ] Yes, regularly

[ ] Yes, sometimes

[ ] No, (almost) never

[ ] No opinion

3.2 Financial, living, care, health, and loneliness concerns (Single choice per question)

To what extent do you worry about the following aspects of life? Select one of the following options:

Not worried at all, not worried, a little worried, worried, very worried, no opinion

  1. 1.

    [ ] My financial situation

  2. 2.

    [ ] My living situation

  3. 3.

    [ ] The care that I’ll receive

  4. 4.

    [ ] My health

  5. 5.

    [ ] Loneliness

3.3 Financial preferences

What is your ideal financial situation when you retire? (Single choice)

[ ] My financial situation is better than before

[ ] My financial situation is the same

[ ] I need less financially

[ ] As long as I can live a pleasant life, receive good care and have enough money to live on, I do not care how much money I receive

[ ] Other, namely, …

[ ] No preference

[ ] I do not know (yet)

[ ] No opinion

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Apostolakis, G., Van Dijk, G. Retirement concerns and planning of cooperative members: a study in the Dutch healthcare sector. Bus Econ 53, 209–224 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s11369-018-0090-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s11369-018-0090-4

Keywords

JEL Classification

Search

Navigation