Impact of Financial Behaviours on Perceived RetirementAdequacy and Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Retirement Planning among Working Professionals

We examine the mediating function of retirement planning in association between core financial behaviours specifically, investment allocation, borrowing pattern, and spending practice with the dependent variables retirement adequacy and retirement satisfaction among professionals in the information technology (IT) and information technology-enabled services (ITES) sectors. A survey was administered to 385 professionals employed in India's IT and ITES sectors, and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test hypotheses grounded in Behavioural Learning Theory. The analysis evaluates whether retirement planning effectively channels these financial behaviours into improved retirement outcomes. The findings indicate that retirement planning significantly mediates the influence of borrowing pattern on retirement adequacy and the influence of spending practice on retirement adequacy, consistent with established Variance Accounted For (VAF) thresholds for full mediation. While investment allocation demonstrates a positive direct relationship with retirement outcomes, its indirect effect through retirement planning is less pronounced compared to borrowing and spending behaviours. Overall, the study conceptualizes retirement planning as a proactive, intrinsic mechanism through which individual financial behaviours are translated into retirement readiness. By empirically validating the mediating role of retirement planning, the research extends Behavioural Learning Theory into the domain of retirement finance and offers actionable implications for policymakers, financial educators, and individuals seeking to enhance retirement adequacy through targeted behavioural and financial literacy interventions.