Too soon to worry? Longitudinal examination of financial planning for retirement among Spanish aged workers

The present study analyzes the relationship between three distal antecedents—financial literacy, confidence in retirement, and economic well-being—and financial planning for retirement evaluated at two different times. We used longitudinal data with repeated measures of financial planning for retirement obtained from a sample (N = 269) of active Spanish workers aged 45–62 years. The results confirm that self-perceived financial knowledge, confidence in retirement, and economic well-being are associated with financial planning for retirement at three and six months. The stability of financial planning for retirement over time was a relevant finding in the present research, even though different measures have been employed in the two waves and financial planning decreases slightly at three months. While the first step of planning, at three months, has predictive power over the second, at six months, there are possible moderators in the relationship between financial planning for retirement at time 1 and time 2, which were not explored. The implications of the results both for financial education and Policy-makers are discussed. Future lines of research can explore these relationships including objective measures of income, as wealth accumulation.