Personality and retirement: Exploring the links between the Big Five personality traits, reasons for retirement and the experience of being retired

Despite a range of literature that considers the five-factor model of personality in relation to aging and life transitions, it has not previously been linked to retirement. The current study used an online survey design. 365 individuals responded, 86 of whom were close to retirement, 279 of whom were already retired. Measures included the Ten-Item Personality Inventory, the Satisfaction with Life Scale and questionnaires devised to measure reasons for retirement (RRQ) and the quality of experiences in retirement (REQ). Results showed that Neuroticism related to a negative view of circumstances leading to retirement, while Conscientiousness related to aspirational reasons for retirement. Extraversion and Neuroticism were the only predictors of life satisfaction in pre-retirement individuals, while Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and low Neuroticism were predictors of life satisfaction and positive experiences in those who had already retired. Personality provided incremental prediction of retirement life satisfaction above reasons for retirement.