Retirement is not the end of the road: Essentialist beliefs about aging moderate the association between future time perspective and retirement adjustment

Objective: The present study aims to investigate whether changes in future time perspective could influence individual’s retirement process and adjustment. Moreover, we would also like to test moderation effect of essentialist beliefs about aging on the association between changes in future time perspective and retirement adjustment. Method: 201 participants were recruited 3 months before retirement and followed for 6 months. Future time perspective was measured before and after retirement. Essentialist beliefs about aging was measured before retirement. Other demographics as well as life satisfaction were also measured as covariates. Results: Multiple regressions were conducted, and the results revealed that (1) retirement could lead to limited future time perspective, but individual differences regarding the influence of retirement on future time perspective also exists; (2) increase in future time perspective was positively associated with retirement adjustment; and moreover, (3) such association was moderated by fixed views of essentialist beliefs, such that retirees holding a more fixed view of essentialist beliefs about aging exhibited a stronger association between future time perspective change and retirement adjustment, while those who held less fixed view of essentialist beliefs about aging did not show such association. Discussion: The present study contributes to the literature by showing that future time perspective could be influence by retirement, and such changes could in turn further impact adjustment. And the association between changes in future time perspective and retirement adjustment was only effective among retirees holding more fixed views of essentialist beliefs about aging. Findings would also provide important practical implications to improve retirement adjustment.