Bem-estar financeiro em idosos: impactos do comportamento de endividamento e da preparação financeira para a aposentadoria

Abstract

Financial well-being plays an important role in the economic and social system, since its concept and spheres of analysis are multifaceted and have been used as a thermometer of how the population is in relation to financial and health factors. In this context, this research aims to verify the impact of financial preparation for retirement (FPR) and indebtedness behavior (IB) on the perception of financial well-being (PFWB) in the elderly. A survey was carried out with 885 individuals aged 60 years or older, residents of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, regardless of whether they were retired or not. The data used come from the application of questionnaires distributed by the eight intermediate geographic regions of the state. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The main results obtained indicate that the debt behavior construct has a negative impact on financial preparation for retirement and on the perception of financial well-being. This research also aims to verify the level of each of the constructs used (IB, FPR and PFWB), the findings are that among the elderly in Rio Grande do Sul there is a low level of financial preparation for retirement, a high perception of financial well-being and a very low level of borrowing behavior. In this way, it is concluded that the elderly reach the retirement stage with a savings deficit and with great dependence on income from social security programs to support their families. Furthermore, the positive impact of financial preparation for retirement on the perception of financial well-being was found. Such findings highlight the importance of regulations that deal with the limit of credit supply and that prioritize the requirement of transparency of financial institutions in the disclosure to the less enlightened public. Therefore, it is essential that public policies to control indebtedness and incentives for financial preparation for retirement for the elderly are built in order to achieve better levels of financial well-being.