Exploring the Preparedness of Ghanaians for Retirement and Ageing: A Case Study of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Area
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24203/ajhss.v6i5.5475Keywords:
Aged, assisted care, informal care, traditional care, Cape CoastAbstract
Introduction:Â There is evidence of the inability of older people in Nigeria, Ghana and other developing countries to sustain themselves through savings, assets or pensions. This situation highlights the minimal benefit of pensions, savings or assets as income sources for older people; old age very often brings poverty and disability.
 Methodology: A qualitative interpretive design informed the study. The study area was categorized into three distinct ecological areas namely urban, periurban and rural areas. Twenty interviews and three focus group discussions with 68 elderly persons were conducted in ten sub-districts in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana. The forty-eight elderly individuals were put into groups of 8, 20 and 20 for the focus group discussions. Data was thematically analysed.
Results: Four major themes and subthemes were identified to reflect the pertinent issue of exploring and defining the preparedness of people for their retirement and ageing. There was evidence that preparing for old age is not an active precedent for the people of Cape Coast and they still believe in the traditional system of caring where it is the sole responsibility of the family to care for its own aged members.
Conclusion: It is evident that formal care is not practiced in Ghana and that the aged therefore find the idea bewildering. They want to experience this care, but existing norms expect the family members to single-handedly provide care for their aged.
References
Zappalà , S., Depolo, M., Fraccaroli, F., Guglielmi, D. and Sarchielli, G., (2008) "Postponing job retirement? Psychosocial influences on the preference for early or late retirement", Career Development International, Vol. 13 Issue: 2, pp.150-167, https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430810860558
Lee, W. K. M., (2003) Women and Retirement Planning: Towards the “Feminization of Poverty†in an Aging Hong Kong, Journal of Women & Aging, 15:1, 31-53, DOI:10.1300/J074v15n01_04
Donaldson, T., Earl, J. K. and Muratore, A. M., (2010). Extending the integrated model of retirement adjustment: Incorporating mastery and retirement planning, Journal of Vocational Behavior 77 (2010) 279–289: doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2010.03.003
Ogunbameru, L. A. & Bamiwuye, S. (2004) Attitudes toward Retirement and Preretirement Education among Nigerian Bank Workers, Educational Gerontology, 30:5, 391-401, DOI: 10.1080/03601270490433594
Ogwumike, F. O. and Aboderin, I., (2005). Exploring the Links between Old Age and Poverty in Anglophone West Africa: Evidence from Nigeria and Ghana, British Society of Gerontology, Generations Review Vol. 15, No. 2, 7–15
Moen, P., (2012). Retirement dilemmas and decisions. In J. W. Hedge & W. C. Borman (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of work and aging (pp.549 – 569). New York: Oxford University Press
Gauvin, F. P. & Lavis, J. N., (2013) Dialogue Summary: Improving End-of-life Communication, Decision-making and Care in Ontario. Hamilton, Canada: McMaster Health Forum, 11 September 2013.
Binswanger, J. & Carman K. G., (2011), How real people make long-term decisions: The case of retirement preparation, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 0167- 2681/ Elsevier B.V.: doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2011.08.010
Stango, V. & Zinman, J., (2009). Exponential growth bias and household finance. Journal of Finance 64 (6), 2807–2849.
ILO, (2014), Social protection: In sub-Saharan Africa, only one in five older persons receives an old- age pension, World Social Protection Report 2014/15, Annex IV, table B.9
Ng, T., Tay, W., Tan, N. and Lim, Y., (2011), Influence of Investment Experience and Demographic Factors on Retirement Planning Intention, International Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 6, No. 2; 196-204
Joo, S. & Grable, J. E., (2005). Employee Education and the Likelihood of Having a Retirement Savings Program, Financial Counselling and Planning, Volume 16 (1), 37-50.
Helman, R., Greenwald. M., & Van Derhei. J. (2007). The Retirement System in Transition: The 2007 Retirement Confidence Survey, EBRI Issue Brief No. 304: 1-29
Ogunbameru, L. A. & Bamiwuye, S. (2004) Attitudes toward Retirement and Preretirement Education among Nigerian Bank Workers, Educational Gerontology, 30:5, 391-401, DOI: 10.1080/03601270490433594
Van der Geest, S. (1998), Yebisa wo fie: Growing old and building a house in the Akan culture of Ghana, Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 13(4), p 333-359
Noone, J., Alpass, F. and Stephens, C., (2010), Do Men and Women Differ in Their Retirement Planning? Testing a Theoretical Model of Gendered Pathways to Retirement Preparation, Research on Aging, 32(6) 715–738. sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0164027510383531
Bohman, D. M., Van Wyk, N. C. & Ekman, S. L., (2010), ‘South Africans’ experiences of being old and of care and caring in a transitional period’, International Journal of Older People Nursing, 6, 187–195. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.17483743.2010.00225.x
Ghana Statistical Services (GSS)/Government of Ghana (GOG)/ Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare (MESW 2010)/(2012b), National Ageing Policy: ‘Ageing with Security and Dignity’, accessed through google scholar, June 2017.
Van der Geest, S. (2002), Respect and reciprocity: Care of elderly people in rural Ghana, Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 17(1), p3-31.
Ghana Statistical Service (2012). 2010 Population and Housing Census. Summary Report of Final Results. Ghana Statistical Service, Accra.
Ramashala, M. F., (2001), Living arrangements, poverty and the health of older persons in Africa, Population Bulletin of the United Nations, Vol 19, 1-19
Coughlin, J. F., (2007). Are You Ready for the New Older Workplace? Aging Baby Boomers & the Evolving Role of Employers (AgeLab 07-03), Cambridge, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
- Papers must be submitted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis) and are not currently under consideration by another journal published by any other publisher.
- It is also the authors responsibility to ensure that the articles emanating from a particular source are submitted with the necessary approval.
- The authors warrant that the paper is original and that he/she is the author of the paper, except for material that is clearly identified as to its original source, with permission notices from the copyright owners where required.
- The authors ensure that all the references carefully and they are accurate in the text as well as in the list of references (and vice versa).
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
- The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.
