Navigating Retirement without a Safety Net: Exploring Household size, Marital status, Family Structure and Religion as Predictors of Retirement Planning Behaviour among Older self-employed in Ilorin

Retirement planning among self-employed adults remains a critical but understudied concern in Nigeria, where informal-sector workers constitute the majority of the labour force yet have limited access to structured pension schemes. Despite increasing economic vulnerability among older self-employed individuals, empirical evidence explaining how sociodemographic factors shape retirement planning behaviour within this population is still scarce. This study therefore investigated the influence of household size, marital status, family structure, and religion on retirement planning behaviour among older self-employed adults in Ilorin, Nigeria. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 150 purposive selected participants aged 50 years and above. Retirement planning behaviour was measured using the 15-item Retirement Planning Behaviour Scale. Simple and multiple linear regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. Results showed that larger household size significantly have higher retirement planning behaviour (β = 0.32, p < .01), Marital status was a partial predictor (F(3,145) = 3.03, p < .01), with divorced individuals reporting significantly lower planning (β = –0.18, p < .05), Family structure did not significantly predict retirement planning (p > .05). Religion, however, emerged as a significant predictor (β = 0.14, p<.01), with Muslim participants reporting higher retirement planning behaviour compared to their Christian counterparts. The joint model revealed that all four socio-demographic factors collectively explained 16% of the variance in retirement planning behaviour (R = .40, R² = .16, F(4,143) = 6.97, p < .01).The findings highlight the role of family responsibilities, marital transitions, and religious affiliation in shaping retirement planning among older self-employed Nigerians and underscore the need for context-sensitive financial education and policy interventions tailored to the informal sector