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The Role of Underconfidence in Retirement Planning and Financial Satisfaction in the United States: A Mediation and Multigroup Analysis Cover

The Role of Underconfidence in Retirement Planning and Financial Satisfaction in the United States: A Mediation and Multigroup Analysis

International Review of Financial Consumers
Volume 11 (2026): Issue 1 (June 2026)
By: ,   and    
Open Access
|Jun 2026
Figures & tables

Figures & Tables

Figure 1.

Conceptual Model

Figure 2.

Structural Equation Model Predicting Financial Satisfaction

Figure 3.

Structural Equation Model with Gender

Figure 4.

Structural Equation Model with Education Level

Comparison between constrained and free model by gender

χ2dfΔχ2ΔdfPCFIRMSE A
Constrained model1733.550 .933.058
Free model1542.232191.218<0.001.944.068
Model with following constraints
UC → RetPlan1543.7331.5410.21.938.067
UC → Sat1563.33321.11<0.001.938.068
RetPlan → Sat1542.3330.3410.55.938.067

Correlation among key variables

12345
1. Financial satisfaction1-0.21***0.33***0.31***0.36***
2. Underconfidence 1-0.08***-0.07***-0.09***
3. Retirement needs 10.33***0.38**
4. Employer retirement account 10.36***
5. Non-employer retirement account 1

Indirect and direct effects by education level

HighEdLowEd
Indirect effect:-0.40-0.14
UC → RetPlan → Sat[-0.52, -0.29][-0.21, -0.07]
Direct effect:-1.17-1.21
UC → Sat[-1.35, -0.98][-1.34, -1.08]

Sample characteristics

VariableAllBy GenderBy Education
PercentageWhole sample (20,198)Female (10,845)Male (9,353)Low education (13,091)High education (7,107)
Underconfidence12.513.011.8***13.212.4*
Overconfidence22.819.825.4***25.917.2***
Retirement planning
 Calculating retirement needs46.040.851.9***37.361.4***
 Employer retirement account56.253.959.7***45.676.4***
 Non-employer retirement account34.430.039.5***23.557.3***
Gender
 Female54.0 57.547.8***
 Male46.0 42.552.2***
Marital Status
 Married49.046.551.9**42.361.1***
 Single33.431.335.8***37.825.4
 Divorced/widowed/separated17.622.212.3***19.913.5
Employment Status
 Work full-time38.631.946.4***31.151.7***
 Work part-time7.96.59.6 ***8.37.2***
 Self-employed8.710.27.0 ***9.57.2***
 Homemaker6.711.61.0 ***8.33.8***
 Full-time student2.83.22.3 ***3.71.1***
 Permanently sick/disabled5.66.34.9 ***7.91.6***
 Unemployed8.18.57.7 ***10.63.6***
 Retired21.621.921.2 ***20.339.4***
Mean
Financial satisfaction (1-10)5.95.56.5***5.46.5***
Objective literacy (0-6)3.02.83.4***2.63.7***
Subjective literacy (1-7)5.14.85.3***4.95.4**
Age (1-6)3.73.73.83.64.0***
Education (1-7)4.44.34.6***
Income (1-10)4.24.04.7***3.65.6***

Indirect and direct effects by gender

FemaleMale
Indirect effect:-0.20-0.26
UC → RetPlan → Sat[-0.27, -0.12][-0.35, -0.17]
Direct effect:-0.99-1.48
UC → Sat[-1.12, -0.84][-1.64, -1.32]

Comparison between constrained and free model by education level

χ2dfΔχ2ΔdfPCFIRMSE A
Constrained model1742.950 .912.058
Free model1485.732258.218<0.001.925.067
Model with following constraints
UC → RetPlan1507.63321.921<0.001.924.067
UC → Sat1485.8330.1510.69.924.066
RetPlan → Sat1491.1335.421<0.05.924.064
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/irfc-2026-0002 | Journal eISSN: 2508-464X | Journal ISSN: 2508-3155
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Language: English
Page range: 15 - 31
Published on: Jun 30, 2026
Published by: International Academy of Financial Consumers
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
Underconfidence,
retirement planning,
financial satisfaction
Related subjects:
Business and economics,
Political economics,
Economic policy,
Business management,
Corporate social responsibility (CSR), compliance management, business ethics,
Industries,
Banks, financial service provider, insurers,
Law,
Commercial law,
Consumer protection

© 2026 Mengya Wang, Suzanne Bartholomae, Jonathan Fox, published by International Academy of Financial Consumers
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Volume 11 (2026): Issue 1 (June 2026)
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