Retirement Preparation (RP) scale index in Thailand: Development and validation

Abstract

Retirement preparation is a multidimensional construct that covers different life domains of an individual. The aims of this research were to construct and validate the retirement preparation (RP) scale among middle-aged and older employees in Thailand and to explore the correlation between retirement indexes: Thinking, Exploring, and Action (TEA). The RP Model in Thailand consists of nine domains and 27 indicators: Financial preparation, Emergency circumstances, Physical health, Mental health, Housing preparation, Appearance, Social relationships, Leisure activities, and Work. The sampling consisted of 488 middle-aged and older employees from the public and private sectors. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for the validation of the RP model and its key indexes were analyzed using the best-fit model. Findings show that Model 3, the nine-dimensional model is the optimal one. Statistically significant among the indexes of the Thailand RP Model, the priority index (K2) includes three items: (1) Fin2, the Financial preparationexploring index; (2) Phy2, the Physical health-exploring; (3) Appearance2, the Appearance-exploring index. Moreover, the transition index (K3) includes four items: (1) Fin1, the Financial preparation-thinking, (2) Phy1, the Physical health-thinking index, (3) Phy3, the Physical health-action, (4) Appear3, the Appearance-action index.