The Mediating Effect of Marital Quality on Spousal Support and Women's Financial Planning for Retirement in Malaysia

Abstract

There has been a steep rise over the past 20 years in the proportion of women who enter the workforce and financially literate. Nevertheless study has showed that most women in relationships are still financially dependent on their partner. This interesting phenomenon prompted myriad studies to investigate the role of marital quality plays in household financial management. However research findings have discovered an inconsistent association between spousal support and women's financial planning for retirement. Thus, the purpose of this study is to address this gap by examining the role of marital quality in mediating the relationship between spousal support and women's retirement planning. A questionnaire survey has been conducted among women with partners which resulted a total 300 completed questionnaires. Data collected is analyzed with the statistical software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. The findings of this study showed that emotional support and instrumental support have positive relationship on marital quality and women's financial planning for retirement. Marital quality partially mediates the relationship between emotional support, instrumental support and women's financial planning for retirement. The policy makers and financial planners can use these findings to substantiate successful financial planning for women's retirement strategies.