This study examines the intellectual evolution, global patterns and thematic structure of retirement planning research from 1955 to 2025 using bibliometric analysis.
A total of 1,569 Scopus-indexed articles were analyzed using biblioMagika® and VOSviewer to examine publication trends, citation networks, influential authors, journals and keyword co-occurrences.
The results reveal a mature, multidisciplinary research field. Early studies focused on life-cycle economics, which later expanded to include behavioral economics and financial literacy, following the global financial crisis. Recently, empirical and policy-relevant research has focused on behavioral interventions, digital technologies, health and economic shocks, and cross-country diversity. Knowledge contributions remain concentrated in high-income countries, but emerging Asian scholars imply gradual geographical diversification. The results show a transition from descriptive to integrated, intervention-based and policy-based approaches.
Only Scopus-indexed publications were used, potentially overlooking research in other databases.
This long-term bibliometric analysis of retirement planning provides insights for academics, policymakers and practitioners to address the challenges of population aging and evolving pension systems.
