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Concerns regarding the adequacy of retirement savings have contributed to the move to encourage better savings behavior. One area of research focuses on understanding the profile of individuals who believe they are preparing adequately for retirement. The current study uses data from a national survey of South Africans to determine how confident workers are about their future retirement income adequacy, and whether behavioral characteristics play a role in their perception of retirement readiness. This study highlights the role that behavioral factors play in perceptions of retirement income adequacy in an African developing market context. In particular, financial risk tolerance, future time perspective, good financial behavior, and self-assessed financial knowledge are all found to be positively related to respondents' retirement confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some highly religious individuals contribute a relatively high percent of their income (e.g., 10 - 15% or more) to their faith communities. This study used a racially and religiously diverse sample and employed qualitative methods to investigate why these individuals give. Five themes emerged from the grounded-theory analysis. Four themes concerned why families gave: a) out of a sense of obedience/duty, b) to express thanksgiving and feel joy, c) because they feel that it is a wise investment, and d) to promote social justice and charity. The final theme that emerged was that they give despite their financial challenges. Based on these findings, this study offers suggestions for how financial counselors and planners might provide culturally competent services to highly religious individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]