Managing pre-retirement anxiety among teachers in the Yilo-Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate pre-retirement anxiety among teachers in the Eastern region in Ghana. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The total population for the study was made up of all the teachers due for retirement in the 2017 academic year in the Yilo-Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The estimated population for the study was 200 retirees. Simple random sampling was used in sampling 70 teachers enlisted for retirement in the Yilo-Krobo Municipality. A questionnaire was used in gathering data. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. It emerged from the study that the sources of pre-retirement anxiety are inadequate fund, managing mental health, managing a new and lower social status, inadequate planning for retirement, and difficulty in time management. The study revealed that the challenges faced by respondents are related to inadequate financial preparation, retirement contributing to faster ageing, retirement leading to early death, retirement contributing to loneliness, and contributing to friends upon retirement. The study showed that there are no retirement counselling services available in the Yilo-Krobo Municipality. The study further revealed that there was a negative correlation between social support and pre-retirement anxiety. The study therefore recommends that the Yilo-Krobo Municipal educational directorate and the Municipal Social Security Insurance Office should collaboratively work with the various counsellors in the Municipality to fully assist teachers for adequately plan financially, make arrangement for accommodations, the educational directorate, and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) should make retirement processes less bureaucratic and costly. Counsellors should educate teachers on ageing and life after retirement to improve their level of adjustment. Keywords: pre-retirement anxiety, counselling service, challenges, social support, religiosity, teachers