The moderating role of financial trust in retirement financial planning

Although financial trust has been modeled as a critical predictor of retirement financial planning activities, insufficient understanding has been developed concerning the relationship between financial trust and the effectiveness of the model of retirement financial planning. This current research creatively evaluated the moderating role of financial trust in the model of retirement financial planning in a sample of young working adults in Shanghai and Shenzhen, China (N = 422). Results presented evidence to support financial trust strengthened the pathways in the model of retirement financial planning. For example, social support was positively and significantly linked to retirement financial behaviors in the subsample reporting high financial trust but not among those with low trust; Risk tolerance was positively and significantly associated with retirement financial planning behaviors in the high-trust subsample but not in the low-trust subsample; Future time perspectives positively and significantly connected to retirement goal clarity in the high-trust but not low-trust respondents. Our findings improve the understanding of the model of retirement financial planning by increasing its complexity and providing new entry points to enhance retirement financial planning, namely promoting financial trust among the public. The results also propose a potential mechanism that can be used to explain how manipulation of financial trust will lead to better retirement financial planning.