Memorable Messages About Retirement, Own Communication About Financial Preparations for Retirement, and Successful Aging: Testing Theoretical Mechanisms in the Communicative Ecology Model of Successful Aging

This study addressed how communication about retirement fits in the communicative ecology model of successful aging (CEMSA). U.S. American older adults ( N  = 294, M _Age  = 59.27 years) reported on a memorable message they heard about retirement, as well as on their own talk about how they can be financially prepared for retirement. Older adults who wrote a memorable message with a theme of (a) saving money for retirement or (b) relaxing or enjoying life during retirement reported talking about how they can be financially prepared for retirement more than did older adults who did not write a memorable message with one of these themes. Older adults’ talk about how they can be financially prepared for retirement was indirectly associated with successful aging, via the serial mediators of positive affect about aging and aging efficacy. Talking about how one can be financially prepared for retirement may be a worthwhile theoretical addition to the CEMSA.