This study examined the effects of an integrated intervention involving exposure to aged future self and a writing task on retirement planning among 235 young and middle-aged working adults. Participants were randomly assigned into three groups: control group (CS), experimental group (FS), and experimental group with a writing task (FSW). The experimental groups viewed an age-morphed photo of their future selves while the control group saw a photo of their current selves. Afterward, the FSW group completed a five-day diary writing task about improvement plan for their aged future selves' well-being, while the FS and CS groups did not. Although no significant main effects of experimental conditions were shown, middle-aged FSW participants reported more financial and psychological retirement planning at the six-month follow-up compared to the CS group and young FSW participants. The implications for targeting specific age groups using unique psychological intervention approaches to encourage retirement planning were discussed.
Yeung et al. (Wed,) studied this question.