Abstract:
Applied research was utilised in order to identify the challenges experienced by
employees of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality regarding preparation for
retirement. The purpose of the study was to explore the challenges experienced by
employees in the age bracket of 50 to 65 years. A quantitative approach was utilised.
Probability sampling with a systematic sampling method was used to obtain a
representative sample of 100 employees from the larger population of 4,453
employees. Survey research was undertaken in order to provide a numeric description of the opinions of employees of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality,
by using questionnaires as the data collection method. The cross-sectional survey
design was most appropriate as it involves one contact with the respondent and is
comparatively cheap to undertake and easy to analyse. Questionnaires were handdelivered
to some respondents to fill in themselves and collected upon completion,
whilst other respondents were assisted with the questionnaires by Wellness
Champions. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences
program (SPSS).
The research demonstrated that the challenges faced by employees of EMM are
financial, psychosocial and physical in nature. Surveyed employees indicated that
they were not aware of any retirement preparatory programme offered by EMM and
expressed a strong need for such a programme. One of the recommendations is the
development of a retirement preparatory programme by EMM in order to mitigate
some of the post-retirement difficulties that may be experienced by retirees.
