The Effect of Retirement Education on Individuals' Retirement Planning and Quality of Life

Retirement refers to the end of working life after a long period of work, when there are difficulties in continuing the work done and a permanent income that means rewarding the labor is connected, and the rest of the life is spent without working. It represents an important life transition for the majority of older adults; the transition from a paid job to retirement is described as a complex, dynamic, longitudinal process. For this reason, individuals need to make retirement plans in order to facilitate adaptation to retirement. Many studies show that pre-retirement planning activities are associated with better physical and psychological health, higher life satisfaction, positive retirement attitudes, and adaptation to retirement. Retirement education refers to education provided to individuals on issues such as evaluating their free time and coping with the problems they will encounter during this period, with the aim of preparing them for retirement. Retirement education aims to help individuals develop positive attitudes about retirement; to easily adapt to this period physically, mentally, economically, and psychosocially; to continue their productivity during retirement, and to spend this period happily. In this context, retirement training to be provided will enable individuals who will retire to see the problems that come with retirement realistically; learn how to deal with these problems and minimize the negative effects of these problems. In order for the individual to embrace the idea of retirement and adapt to this period, retirement training should include consultancy services on issues such as physical, psychosocial, financial change and legal rights. Training on physical change should include topics such as aging and old age concepts, old age characteristics and problems (physical, psychological, cognitive, social), nutrition and diet, personal care, care for chronic diseases, protection and development of health. Training to be planned in the field of psychosocial change should include topics such as family support, role change and adaptation, time management, leisure activities, stress and coping methods, volunteer activities, civil society organizations, and the society's perception of the elderly. In financial change training, topics such as retirement salary and budget planning, additional income sources, re-employment opportunities, and management of health expenses should be addressed, while in training on legal rights, topics such as insurance and retirement severance pay, retirement investment funds and state contribution, and protection of personal data should be included. In the literature review, no nursing research was found that evaluated the effects of retirement education on retirement planning and health. In this context, our study has original value as it is the first study to address the retirement period, which is an important transition process, in the field of nursing.

This study aims to evaluate the impact of retirement education based on Meleis' Transition Theory on individuals approaching retirement. A randomized controlled experimental design following the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) guidelines will be employed.

The research will be conducted in two factories located in the city center of Denizli. Both factories are institutionalized in the field of cable production and belong to the same employer. These institutions have been operating since 2006, primarily serving export markets. The factories were selected due to the predominance of employees aged 50 and above and the nature of the work, which involves heavy machinery operation. Factory A employs 514 individuals, while Factory B employs 471 individuals. The total number of administrative personnel in both factories is 19. The workforce is predominantly male, and work is conducted in shifts (07:00-15:00, 15:00-23:00, 23:00-07:00). Shift schedules are determined monthly, and employees rotate through all shifts. Both institutions have occupational health and safety specialists; however, regular health screenings and training activities are not conducted.

The study population consists of 247 individuals aged 50 and above working in both factories. The minimum sample size was determined using power analysis (G Power 3.1.9.4) with a power of 1-β=0.80, an alpha level of α=0.05, and an effect size of 0.26, resulting in 44 participants per group (44 in the intervention group and 44 in the control group), totaling 88 participants. To account for potential participant attrition, the minimum sample size was increased by 20%, bringing the final sample to 106 individuals (53 in the intervention group and 53 in the control group).

Inclusion criteria for the study are being literate, aged 50 and above, and having no communication impairments. Individuals who have previously received retirement education related to the study topics will be excluded. Termination criteria include missing two or more training sessions, becoming disabled during the study, or retiring.

A list containing information on the 247 employees aged 50 and above will be prepared. Participants will be assigned to experimental and control groups using a six-block combination method. Eighteen six-block combinations consisting of letters A and B will be generated by an independent researcher using the randomizer.org program. The 247 individuals will be assessed based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and eligible participants will be identified. The 106 participants required for the sample will be assigned to the intervention or control group according to the predetermined randomization blocks. Participants will not be informed of their group assignment. After an initial introduction meeting, participants' information will be collected, and they will be informed about the training process and the possibility of extended training duration to prevent them from discerning their group assignment. Data collection will be conducted by a research assistant unaware of the participants' group assignments. The researcher providing the training will meet the groups for the first time during the introduction meeting. Statistical analyses will be performed by an independent statistician blinded to the group assignments, and the analysis codes will remain undisclosed until the reporting is completed. This approach aims to control detection bias, statistical bias, and reporting bias.

Data will be collected using a Descriptive Information Form, the Retirement Planning Process Scale, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF).

A training program will be developed covering the concept of retirement, changes occurring during retirement (physical, social, psychological), health protection activities and their benefits, and financial preparedness. Since no prior study in the field of nursing has focused on retirement preparation, six focus group interviews were conducted-three with six individuals planning retirement and three with six individuals who retired within the last five years. These interviews revealed a need and demand for education on physical, psychological, social, and financial aspects of retirement, guiding the development of the training content. The appropriateness, reliability, and quality of the training program will be evaluated by five experts. A pilot study with 10 individuals outside the study population will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the training.

Due to the lack of similar studies on retirement education, relevant health protection and promotion studies were reviewed, revealing that training sessions typically range from 1 to 8 sessions with durations of 30-150 minutes. In this study, the retirement education will consist of six sessions, each lasting 60 minutes. To enhance effectiveness, training sessions will be conducted in groups of no more than 15 participants.

Before the intervention, a meeting will be held with the control group to explain the study's purpose. Baseline data will be collected using the Descriptive Information Form, the Retirement Planning Process Scale, and WHOQOL-BREF. After the intervention, post-test data will be collected, followed by follow-up test data one month later. Once follow-up data collection is completed, the control group will also receive retirement education, but no other interventions will be applied during the study period.

Following the control group, the intervention group will be introduced to the study. An introductory meeting will be held to provide information about the study's objectives and procedures. Baseline data will be collected using the Descriptive Information Form, the Retirement Planning Process Scale, and WHOQOL-BREF. The retirement education program will be conducted over six weeks, with one 60-minute session per week. Post-test data will be collected at the final session, followed by follow-up test data one month later.

The independent variable in this study is retirement education based on Meleis' Transition Theory, while the dependent variables include financial, lifestyle, psychosocial, and health perception levels related to retirement planning, as well as quality of life scores.

Data will be analyzed using IBM SPSS 26.0. The normality of continuous variables will be tested using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (n>50). The chi-square test will be used to compare dependent variables with independent variables. If parametric test assumptions (normality and homogeneity of variance) are met, numerical measurements between independent groups will be compared using the Independent Samples t-test; otherwise, the Mann-Whitney U test will be used. Descriptive statistics will be presented as mean ± standard deviation (x̄ ±SD) for parametric tests or as median and min-max values for non-parametric tests. Comparisons of two dependent groups will be performed using the Paired Samples t-test if parametric assumptions are met; otherwise, the Wilcoxon test will be applied. For categorical numerical data, comparisons of more than two dependent groups will be conducted using the Friedman test. A significance level of p<0.05 will be considered statistically significant.