| Foreword | 7 |
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| Acknowledgements | 9 |
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| Abstract | 11 |
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| Table of contents | 13 |
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| Detailed table of contents | 15 |
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| 1 Introduction | 21 |
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| 1.1 Motivation and background of the study | 21 |
| 1.2 Review of existing research | 25 |
| 1.3 Knowledge aim and research questions | 26 |
| 1.4 Research objectives and structure of the thesis | 28 |
| 1.5 Demarcation and contribution | 31 |
| 2 Frame of reference and conceptual approach for the analysis of individual retirement-specific financial planning behavior | 33 |
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| 2.1 The individual financial optimization problem | 33 |
| 2.2 FP perspectives and FP actions: the components of individual FPB | 45 |
| 2.3 Conceptual approach for the analysis of individual retirement- specific FPB | 55 |
| 2.4 Summary of the frame of reference and the conceptual approach | 62 |
| 3 Fundamentals of the retirement system in Germany | 63 |
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| 3.1 Demographic developments in Germany | 64 |
| 3.2 The German pension system | 71 |
| 3.3 Summary of the fundamentals of the retirement system in Germany | 93 |
| 4 Retirement-specific behavioral finance and derivation of benchmark behavior for FP actions | 95 |
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| 4.1 Relevance of behavioral finance to the study of individual retirement-specific FPB | 96 |
| 4.2 The standard economic theory of decision-making and its adaptation to behavioral finance | 98 |
| 4.3 Behavioral finance adaptations of additional FPB relevant theories | 134 |
| 4.4 Postulated benchmark behavior for individual FP actions | 137 |
| 4.5 Summary of retirement-specific behavioral finance and the derivation of benchmark behavior for FP actions | 154 |
| 5 Investor retirement survey and outlook on empirical analyses about individual retirementspecific FPB | 156 |
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| 5.1 Operationalization of research-specific FP perspectives and FP actions | 157 |
| 5.2 Investor retirement survey as chosen observation instrument | 169 |
| 5.3 Identification of different investor groups with a particular capability for risk | 180 |
| 5.4 Structure of the empirical analyses for the examination of the conceptual approach | 194 |
| 5.5 Summary of introduction to investor retirement survey and empirical analyses | 195 |
| 6 Empirical analyses of individual retirementspecific FPB | 197 |
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| 6.1 Pooling of investor groups and characterization of the newly defined homogenous investor types | 197 |
| 6.2 Analysis of investor type specific FP perspectives | 217 |
| 6.3 Analysis of investor type specific FP actions and comparison to benchmark behavior | 268 |
| 6.4 Scenario analyses for adequate saving rates | 295 |
| 6.5 Summary of the empirical analyses of individual retirement-specific FPB | 320 |
| 7 Review of empirical research and identification of suggestions for policy-makers, financial planners and the individual | 323 |
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| 7.1 Review of identified FP perspectives | 324 |
| 7.2 Review of gaps identified in individual retirementspecific FP actions | 329 |
| 7.3 Summary of individual retirement-specific FPB profiles for the five investor types | 331 |
| 7.4 Suggestions for policy-makers, financial planners and the individual | 340 |
| 7.5 Summary of the review of empirical research and identification of suggestions for policy-makers, financial planners and the individual | 372 |
| 8 Conclusion | 374 |
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| 8.1 Summary of results | 375 |
| 8.2 Assessment and critique of this study | 379 |
| 8.3 Further research questions | 380 |
| Appendix | 383 |
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| List of symbols | 426 |
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| Abbreviations | 427 |
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| Bibliography | 429 |
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| Index | 453 |
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