Retirement Migration: Lived Experiences of Return Native and Non-Native Elderly Migrants in Aburi, Ghana.

Abstract

Retirement migration is a form of migration, which involves retired persons migrating to new destinations, which can be either internally or internationally. The popularity of this phenomenon has grown globally with extensive literature especially on countries of the Global North. The phenomenon, although practiced in developing economies such as Ghana, has not been adequately documented. The narrative thus in literature is seen from the perspective of countries in the Global North. This study thus examines the lived experiences of retired elderly migrants in Ghana using Aburi as the study community. The study further defines two forms of retired migrants, the native elderly migrants and the non native elderly migrants. The native elderly migrants are the participants who are indigenes of Aburi and have returned to the community in retirement. The non-native elderly migrants on the other hand are not indigenes of the community but chose Aburi as a place for settlement after retirement from active service. The study applied the mixed research method approach, and used survey, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to obtain the required information. Data collection and analysis was done in a sequential explanatory approach. Overall, the study collected data from 150 native retired elderly migrants specifically aged 60 years and above. The participants included members of the SSNIT pensioners association, CAP 30 pensioner’s association members in the community and some other community members not part of the two pensioners association but are also retired migrants within the community. The study findings indicate the strong influence of women in the retirement migration decision as opposed to the migration decisions couples took during their active career period. More than one-fifth (28.0%) of the respondents attained middle school certificate education. The logistic regression model showed that income and family support positively influences the lived experiences of the native retired elderly migrants in Aburi. Retired migrants earning GHS5,000 and above are 35 percent more likely to have positive experience compared to those retired migrants who earned GHS1,000 and below. Native retired elderly migrants who had extended family support were 90 percent more likely to have positive experience compared to those retired elderly migrants who had no extended family support. The study also found that there is increasing demand for land and properties in Aburi, this trend has resulted in hikes in land and property prices within the community with land litigation becoming a feature of the community. The trend if not controlled can affect the peace and stability of the community. The study also confirms that the aged in the community continue to engage as oppose to the disengagement theory of ageing which is built on the premise that older persons in countries such as Ghana disengage in their old age. The study concludes by highlighting the importance of the women or wives in the retirement migration decision-making process. The use of social groups such as the church and mosque as coping strategy of the elderly to meet their peers and socialize. The planning of communities should take into account the needs of the elderly. The low pension income levels of pensioners in general requires attention. As a recommendation the National Pension Regulatory Authority (NPRA) needs to review the pension scheme more especially SSNIT pension. The investment portfolio of the scheme requires monitoring to ensure there is value for money to enable them pay good pension incomes to pensioners.