Efficacy of a pre-retirement planning intervention for aging individuals with mental retardation.
Retirement classes teach facts but do not change feelings; add peer or family support for the emotional piece.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers ran a class for the adults with intellectual disability. The class met once a week for eight weeks. Staff taught about pensions, housing, and daily activities after work ends.
Before and after the class, staff asked questions about retirement knowledge, feelings, and life satisfaction.
What they found
After the class, adults knew more retirement facts. They could name more housing choices and explain pension rules.
But their feelings about retirement stayed the same. Life satisfaction scores did not budge. Knowledge grew, mood stayed flat.
How this fits with other research
Saggers et al. (2019) later showed peer-led health classes also boost knowledge for adults with ID. Their peer coaches got the same knowledge gains as staff teachers.
Ahrens et al. (2011) went further. One adult with ID taught mindfulness to three friends. Aggression dropped to zero for two years. These studies extend the 1994 work by proving people with ID can teach each other, not just learn from staff.
Crossman et al. (2018) looked at younger people. They found transition planning works best when parents and youth plan together. This mirrors the 1994 finding that classes help, but feelings need more than facts.
Why it matters
You can run a short retirement class and expect clients to learn the facts. Pair that class with peer mentors or family meetings to tackle feelings. Knowledge is step one; social support is step two.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This report describes a study designed to identify variables related to attitudes toward retirement among adults with mental retardation. Seventy-five adults with mild to moderate mental retardation were compared to a group of age peers drawn from the employee population of a regional centre in a Southern American state. It was found that a general satisfaction with life and feelings of preparedness for retirement were strongly related to attitudes toward retirement among both groups. Other common correlates that were significantly related among both groups included financial preparedness, health perceptions, orientation to work and commitment to work. Also observed was a high correlation between life satisfaction and orientation to work and commitment to work among both groups. The authors also found that pre-retirement planning did prove to be a generally effective means of teaching older adults with mental retardation the options that are available during their retirement years, but did not seem to change their attitudes toward retirement or life satisfaction. The authors conclude that retirement has positive connotations for most individuals with mental retardation, particularly if they feel that they are prepared for it.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 1994 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.1994.tb00398.x