I did not plan for a loan because working with a public enterprise, anything can happen so if you should go in for a loan without thinking of how to pay back the loan, there could be a problem. So I thought about it and said let me just manage in my own small room and in Ghana it is the transport that consumes money (SE, Female)

Even though we can see different cases of pensioners who were able to put up a building through the help of loans and those who were not able to even finish such projects due to personal circumstances, some interesting facts also emerged. From the interviews, some of the pensioners were able to put up their own buildings and also build apartments for rent. In this category, we see two different types of situations. Those who rent in the city where they live now and those who rent in the village.

Where I am staying, we stay there alone but I have another one that I have rented it out at a different location. We collect in a year's advance. I normally collect in a year's advance and when its exhausted, I collect another one so that has been the pattern. The money that I collect is good (JMH, Male)

We have built about 2 flats that we rent out to other people so I am able to get some income from these people. This is good to pay our bills and other things. This will cushion us small (LA, Female)

Both JMH and LA have put up a building in the city (Accra) where they live. Aside planning for their homes, this was also a long-term retirement strategy that is going to help them gain some income. These properties are “fixed assets” which implies that they will be able to get income for a very long period of time and they are sustainable more or less. Some of the remarks that they made is that this form of alternative strategy is a good source of income and it can help to pay other bills.

On the other hand, irrespective of the fact that AMB is also receiving rent, his property was built in the village and not the main city.

I have a house in my village which I have rented out. I have a 2 storey house rented out to people. That is a way to earn some money (AMB, Male)

It is therefore important to compare these situations and find out some of the possible reasons why AB decided to build in the village and not the city. The United Nations habitat profile of Ghana explains that before people put up a building in Ghana, they consider and compare the cost of land (based on the area or region), the cost of materials and cost of labour. They found that materials and cost of labour is relatively cheaper in the rural areas. Also, lands are cheaper because rural areas in Ghana are sparsely populated. Due to this, most people who have ties in such areas may prefer to build in these areas.

Another dimension to this situation is related to family ties and inheritance in Ghana. Based on family ties, many people are able to acquire land or properties from their family and some of these places are located in the rural areas. This is because, Ghana is ethnically diverse and most of the population living in the capital are either there based on marriage or other economic activities.

I taught for some years and because of marriage, I came to Accra (LA, Female)

Some of them are at where we were born and some of them are scattered just like how I am in Accra here (VA, Female)

From the interviews, it can be seen that some of the interviewees also tried to invest their money into some banks or financial institutions. Some of these monetary fund's came from the lump sum that most of these pensioners received after they retired from active service. At some point, these investments seemed to be a very good source of long-term income for them but there was an issue of sustainability of these investments. It can be seen that sometimes, these investments do not pay off due to some unforeseen circumstances with banks and loans. This may be a general issue with the financial sector because the pensioners invested in different financial institutions but faced the same liquidity problems.

I invested my pension in Menzgold (investment company) and the money has been locked up because there has been issues with the company and that has caused my downfall…That has brought part of the financial problem to me because I invested my lump sum... It was over ghc20,000 (BA, Male)

I put mine in GN Bank. As at now, the money is locked up...The government of Ghana froze the accounts. They said that they were not operating legally so the accounts were frozen. It is now that they are trying to see how best they can get our monies back to us. It is having a very serious strain on a lot of retirees…I was collecting my stipend at the end of every month until the government froze them (AMB, Male)

I did it with the Gold Coast. We are now at a fix since 2011 up till today. So when this problem came in, we are now looking to see whether something good will come from it… Even with the bank, what we know is that the government and some individuals owe this investor, I mean the man so it is a bit of a problem so we are hoping that things will streamline (LA, Female)

Rather than being an income generating venture, it has caused a problem for most of the pensioners and some of them are struggling because of this incidence. From the narratives, it can be seen that this can be an attribute of the problems that some pensioners are facing. These pensioners are not even sure when they will be able to get their monies back. There has also been delays based on refunds and “credibility” of these financial institutions. This actually makes it quite difficult to “trust” certain financial institutions because before these institutions can operate, they are granted a license by the central bank after they have been vetted and approved based on banking regulations and standards in Ghana.

In summary, we see that both male and female pensioners faced problems with their investments in the banks. From the narratives, more men made investments in the banks as compared to women. We can say that investing in banks may not be an ideal long-term strategy due to unforeseen circumstances of the banking sector.

Aside investing in banks which more or less did not work for the pensioners, some of the long-term retirement plans also included investments in the education of their children. These investments are normally made in order for them to be independent and not require help in the future like we see in most cases. Most of the pensioners tried to educate their children before retirement. Some of them have finished their education and are working in very good institutions. Some are also living on their own.

I educated all my children before I retired. I do not have a baby or a teenager or anybody. By the time I retired, my last born was 20 years. She has completed University…All my children have graduated and are working. My first daughter is working in a hospital in New York and my second daughter is also a nurse in New York. My third daughter is a PhD holder in Biochemistry and currently she is a lecturer in a private University in Ohio. The last born is working in a bank in Accra. (AB, Male)

My child is living on his own. He completed his technical education and he's now working and living on his own (GT, Male)

… I have children as well. All of them are working. One is even an Accountant (MI, Female)

My first child is with the CMC that is the Cocoa marketing company. The second one is with the food and drugs board and the third one is with the judicial service. When they have their leave, they come around (LA, Female)

The investment I have is taken from my pension at source which is the two policies that I told you that I have done. I have two education policies because I have been still looking after two children who are still in school…One is in the tertiary institution and one is in basic school (BA, Male)

One thing we see from the narratives is that those whose children were born early or the older pensioners have looked after their children through school and some are already working. Some other pensioners like BA had also invested in his children's education but one thing we can analyze is the age difference. By basing this analysis on evidence, we could see that BA's children were relatively younger. He has a child in basic school and “none” of them have a child in basic school. The least from the other pensioners was at the University level. This could mean that investing in the education of one's child is important but the period or age can also have an effect on retirees.

There were other long-term strategies that other pensioners had which were more “commercial or business related”. Even though some of them had already started, some of them were still mobilizing funds in order to start these businesses. I first analyze those who had started and then those who are still preparing to start.

Yes. It is my business. It has been here for so long. It was here even when I was working. It was from work that I come here but I did not have time to manage it. I prefer being here myself. I used to leave it with my assistant but I always make sure I come here (MI, Female)

The specific plan was there that I will enter into farming so somewhere along the line I bought farmlands and some of them are a distance away from me. So what I did is I started planting yam and cocoyam. It is now that they have started bearing fruits that I can sell so that will also be another source of income to the family (ES, Male)

Both MI and ES had different plans for retirement and had already started working on these plans. From the interviews, it can be seen that they started working on these plans and they had an idea of what they were going to do during retirement beforehand. For example, MI, a female interviewee already had a business. This made it easy for her to transition in retirement. Unlike MI where the business was already running on a daily basis, ES, a male interviewee, had a different case based on the nature of his plan. Even though he had acquired a land, he decided to plant crops on this land. This was a means to gain extra money for himself. Since crops take time to grow and harvest, he may not be able to have the income that he expects on a daily basis unless it is the harvest season.

Some of the retirees also had long term plans but these plans had not yet been realized. This was based on various reasons. For the case of BA, a male interviewee, he wishes to get “capital” in order to be able to start the business which means that he does not have the financial resources for such a business. ES on the other hand also wants to venture into the transport business but he says, “the drivers are not faithful”.

I decided to sell out some materials like cement for construction work, paint and other things and I even started building a container (shop) prior to that but I have not been able to finish it yet. But it is still on my mind that I will be able to complete the container and then get the capital to start that business so that was my aim (BA, Male)

I have the mind of entering into transport but the drivers are not very faithful so I do not want to make an investment into transport (ES, Male)

Some pensioners have already had firsthand experience with this kind of income avenue. For instance, AMB entered the same transport business at the point of retirement but now he wants to stop.

Apart from that, my wife brought down some bus from America which works as a commercial vehicle to support the family. It has not yielded any better results for the past three years because the drivers are not good or faithful so it is not helping us enough. We are even deciding to sell it out because it has not been encouraging (AMB, Male)

AMB explains that the drivers are “not good or faithful”. This means that his expectations are not met when it comes to the transport business. He is deciding to stop and sell his bus because he is not getting the amount of income that he is expecting to get out of that particular business.

This notwithstanding, some other pensioners also had plans that they will use as a way of adapting to retirement. In this regard, I explain it as spontaneous adaptation to retirement. This is because, these plans are not ones that are projected as sustainable for a long period as compared to things like education and acquiring properties. In the interviews, these pensioners did it concurrently or just for a period of time.

In the interviews, LA, a female interviewee says that she does some liquid soap but not on a large skill. She also does not do it regularly unless someone wants it. She explains that she does not get so much money from it.

I learnt how to do some liquid soap so I do it. I do it for those who need it. I do not sell it on a commercial basis but I do it privately and people come for it. It is not anything that I get so much money from but I just do it just to keep me doing something. I only do it when people come to order. Apart from that, I do not have any extra money (LA, Female)

GT said clearly that he knew that he was coming on retirement but he did not have any specific plan for retirement. His aim was to solely depend on his retirement money because he did not have any clear “responsibilities” or issues with getting a place to stay. He also said that he taught in order to wile away time. This means that he did it not because he had planned for it but just because there was nothing to do.

Actually I knew I was going to retire and I knew the only source of my income was the pension so I knew I was going to concentrate on my pension and not from any other source… After retiring, I taught in further education for two years and that was it. I depend solely on the pension now (GT, Male)

In summary, there were no clear differences in retirement planning because both men and women were able to plan for long-term purposes. Some of the pensioners were able to build their own houses. Two (male and female) pensioners were not able to build before retirement due to family and care responsibilities. The man could not raise money to build so he lives in his father's house and the woman had to take care of her unemployed son so she lives in a rented apartment. Even after building these houses, some were able to build apartments for rent. These pensioners explained that it was not easy to build these houses. Both male and female pensioners had to go in for loans concurrently and others had to use money that they saved from private work. However, there were some nuance differences in the way these properties were acquired. Whiles some men made it seem that their retirement plans were done singlehandedly, one women made it seem like she made the plans collectively as a family unit (with her husband).

Even though pensioners, both men and women used other long-term retirement plans like getting their homes, investing in banks and educating their children, it was seen that investing in banks was not a viable long-term strategy due to the unforeseen circumstances in the banking sector in Ghana. There were also long-term strategies which were commercial and business-related. One woman started this plan by selling products in her shop whereas another man started farming but the returns were only seasonal. Some pensioners had to adjust to retirement and there was a case of a female interviewee who was selling liquid soap contractually. Ideally, one of the men made it clear that he did not have any plans for retirement and he is just living on the state pension. In the next section, we see how they spend these alternative income.

4.3 Uses of alternative income: medications, transportation, utility bills

Even though pensioners are able to generate alternative income from various sources. These monies are used for different reasons by these pensioners. Most of them use the money for medications especially ones prescribed from their hospital visits. Others also use the money for transportation and payment of utility bills. In this section I analyze how they manage all these expenses. Do they get help for specific bills like medications? If yes, from where? Are they able to access health insurance or not? Do they adjust their modes of transportations for a cheaper option? Are there any lifestyle changes to reduce costs?

Majority of pensioners use their alternative income on medications. It is obvious that they are ageing so their bodies are developing and changing. From the interviews, some of them explained that they do not solely depend on the health insurance in Ghana. This is because, the insurance does not cover most of the medications that they are given but rather just little medications that are not really expensive. Due to this, some of them prefer not to register for the insurance cover and rather pay for their own medication because they think that is even better. Some of them actually do get support to pay for these medications and these are supplements from their children most at times.

They do help especially with the medication and buying of drugs and all that (LA, Female)

Also over here, even though we have the national health insurance, it does not cover all medications so all these are challenges so you try as much as possible to live within your means(GT, Male)

…I have to visit the hospital like once every month but when it is critical, I may have to visit more than once in a month. Depending on the seriousness of it, you may have to visit either once or twice or thrice a month…Ghana, there is no insurance cover for anything. You have to take care of yourself. You have to foot your own bills. It may be expensive based on the seriousness of it and the medications. If it is serious, you may have to buy an expensive medication to slow it(JMH, Male).

…I visit the hospital constantly. Usually in three months or two months. I go to the orthopedic because of my knee and I go to the OPD medical side at korle-bu teaching hospital and anytime you go too, you have to go for a lab test before you visit your doctor so that alone is not a small thing. You have to pay for your lab test. Usually when you go for the results, they are drugs they write for you that you have to go and buy. Sometimes if you are lucky, you will get the national health insurance covering some of the medicines and the rest you have to buy yourself so these are the problems I am facing (LA, Female)

As for the hospital, I visit every two months at the military hospital. The hospital takes care of the bills but if they do not have the drugs, I have to buy. For insurance, I registered but I realized that it was even better to go to the hospital to pay than to go to these Ghanaian health insurance (VA, Female)

Aside medication, some of these pensioners also use their pension money for transportation. Most of them said that they do not spend on transportation as much as they used to do anymore. Some explained that they are not able to take the more comfortable public transports like taxi's. At the moment, they have to adjust their “lifestyle” and go for much cheaper things.

It depends but I try as much as possible to spend within my means. For instance, if maybe I should pick a car to a place in Accra, we have taxi's and we have public transport. And with my meagre pension, the choice is there for me. I would wish to pick a taxi which would be more expensive than the state transport but I will go in for the public transport so that I can cover my rounds within the month till I receive my pension so I try as much as possible to “cut my coat according to my size” (GT, Male)

That is where we spend our monies. On transportation and donation that is why I have to work. You have to find avenues of generating some income to support you when it comes to all these programmes. At least you should have money for your transport and your donation ad then you are okay (SE, Female).

SE says that even though she uses most of her money on transportation, she also has to give money out for donations because of the groups or associations that she belongs to. On the other hand, some of the pensioners also use their pension money to pay for utility bills.

All that I would be able to do to live happily is to manage my electricity bills or utility bills (ES, Male)

For instance transportation you have to pay for anywhere you go (GT, Male)

Where I live right now is my husband's family house. So we don't pay any rent but just utility bills (MI, Female)

The pensioners, both men and women made it clear that they use most of their alternative income for medication. They narrated that the health insurance does not cover most of the drugs that are most “important” for them. Others also said that they use their alternative income for transportation, paying of bills and in some cases donations for those who were engaged in benevolent acts.

The first section generally explained the generation of alternative income of pensioners and the networks that they mobilized and how they planned and prepared for these need. However, in the second section, I analyze the social situation of pensioners beyond material needs in order to examine their emotional support networks and whether they face loneliness. This aims to answer my research question; “what social and emotional support networks do pensioners mobilize to minimize loneliness?”

4.4 Support networks aside alternative income: social and emotional support

Even though generating alternative income is important for retirees, there are things that they seek beyond these material needs. This is because, some of them explain that sometimes life becomes boring and they feel lonely.

Life is quite boring and in fact with this phone, the phone is a helper. Either than that, it would have been worse but with the phone you can hear people's voice. I think it's better than those who previously went on retirement (LA, Female)

So normally when I feel bored and the children are not there I just put on the machine. Whiles the machine is playing, I also follow up with humming or singing just to enjoy myself. I do not sit there just to feel bad.(VA, Female)

Because of this, some of them seek social and emotional support in order not to “disengage” from their networks or social groups. Some of them find this through interactions with friends (either through call or social network platforms or joining associations and church groups that organize activities that will keep them busy. In some cases, some men use their social networks not only for material needs but also to retain social prestige and social activities. Therefore I analyze this section on this basis. Do pensioners use their professional networks to retain prestige and social activities? If yes, is it common among men? Does digitalization play a role in emotional support? How (phones, social media)? Do pensioners resort to church activities and associations for such emotional support? Are women more engaged?

4.4.1. Mobilization of professional networks to retain social prestige and social activities

People usually mobilize some professional networks based on their positions and experiences that they had during their years in active service. This actually implies that the people still see them as authority figures and people who are proficient in their field so they are usually contacted to help other people develop within their career path. This clearly shows the amount of respect they are accorded. Through this, they are able to engage themselves in more social activities. They are also able to create alliances with people of their caliber.

Besides that, Ghana education service, by the position that I reached, invite me to offer training for some people. Maybe newly appointed principals and some personnel within Ghana education service as a consultant…Apart from that, some people who know me invite me to come and offer training for their staff in institutions which offer technical skills. I am a consultant for some companies and Ghana education service also invites me for programmes which gives me extra income to support my living (AMB, Male)

Anyway I am an examiner so periodically we meet to do some moderation of examination questions so once a while we meet. When invitations are sent out we go and meet and moderate examination questions. It comes at a certain period of the year so almost every year, at a certain time, we meet. Sometimes for a whole month or for a month and a half. Sometimes we meet for six weeks, eight weeks…There are still people who are in active service who are part of the group. But normally, the chunk of the members are retirees. People who are experienced. You know, with the moderation of examination questions, they normally rely on experienced people. People who have retired who can get more time. They are all people from different institutions (JMH, Male)

We see that older people are still seen as authority figures and are given leadership roles. This resonates with the earlier literature which suggests that older people are perceived to have so much wisdom and are usually expected to pass on this knowledge to the younger generations. In the study, we see that men were the only ones who narrated that they use their positions and experiences to gain social prestige. Beyond this, there are other means by which people are able to satisfy their social or emotional needs.

The role of digitalization in emotional support networks

Technology has also changed the way pensioners, both men and women interact with family and friends. In the past decades, computers, phones and other social media platforms were not so common so communicating with people was not so easy. Now, due to the invention of phones and other devices, it is easy to talk to people both home and abroad. This form of structures have helped pensioners with reaching their friends and providing support. This means that the forms of communication in society has changed significantly. Society has moved from a more traditional way of communication to a more contemporary way of communication due to modernization processes.

In this part, I analyze how communication pattern has changed: Have pensioners adopted a modern way of communicating? How are these processes aided (Phones, social media)? From the interviews, some of the pensioners said that they do not normally visit family or friends or they do not see the need to because they could just pick a phone and then start talking to them. Others also said that they have “WhatsApp” platforms where they talk and share information.

To go and visit, I do not do that. Well if my friends come, no problem but you do not really see people visiting these days. Things have changed. If you want to visit, you will just call someone and talk to them. That is the visiting that I do usually. I also communicate on WhatsApp a lot. I chat with people and make calls a lot (LA, Female)

For me, I am blessed. I have a platform of my principals association and some of my old students and a whole lot of people. Personally, I used to interact with so many people even during retirement (AMB, Male)

Once a while I have been meeting my friends. Some have been calling and others also WhatsApp me. I have been hearing from some of my friends and we discuss issues together. (BA, Male)

Yes, I do see and hear from some of my colleagues. I do talk to them all the time and there are others that I also hear from. We communicate which each other. So we are able to get information from each other. Actually, most of our communication is online. We usually talk on the phone like WhatsApp (SE, Female)

Those ones who I am very intimate with. Those who were very intimate. In fact, those who stay with me in the same neighborhood see me very often but for those who are far off, we only talk on phone but per chance if we meet in town, that is fine but we normally talk on phone (JMH, Male)

I also hear from my family members very often. Because of mobile phones, communication is now very easy. You can communicate with somebody even with someone staying abroad right now so as for communication with the extended family, looking for their welfare and all that, it is something that has become a normal procedure that we do(ES, Male)

The interviews indicate that technology has helped pensioners, both men and women to communicate with friends both home and abroad in a more distant and virtual way. Most of them are happy with this structure and do not see the need to physically go and visit someone whiles they can just take and phone and call the person. However, this form of support goes beyond just phones and social platforms. Some pensioners also engage in more activities especially in church and other associations in order to get these forms of social and emotional support.

Religion: Church groups or associations, church activities and benevolence

Religion is very important to pensioners in Ghana especially when it comes to going to church and praying. From the interviews, it can be seen that most of the interviewees, both men and women always go to church unless they are not feeling well. Some of them even engage in more church activities within the week. It can be seen that women tend to be more involved in church activities and most of them are into groups that help the poor as well as members.

I am a catholic so I go to church on Sundays at the St Michael's catholic church. I go every Sunday unless I am not feeling well. (VA, Female)

Definitely on Sundays, I go to church and I take part in church activities and that is usually from mornings to the afternoons and then the church closes. Apart from Sundays, during weekdays, like Wednesdays, the church service will be in the evening from 5pm to 7pm which usually does not involve much time because it's a teaching service which I also participate and socialize with other people so that is what I do (BA, Male)

Sundays, I go to church. For instance today, I have been to church and back so that's how it goes (GT, Male)

Yes. I am a Christian and I go to church every Sunday unless I am indisposed or there is something that I have to attend to which may take me out of church (AMB, Male)

Yes, that is on Sundays. Its regular. Unless maybe my health condition requires that I have to stay home. That is the time that I may forgo. Other than that, its regular. I do not do anything at all in church ( JMH, Male)

Sundays I go to church. Sometimes when there are some activities at church within the week I go when I am feeling okay so these are the activities…For activities in church, sometimes I do the bible reading. You know when it is your turn to read. And then I am in a group where we meet and sometimes I teach them some things just to keep myself active. Since I am a teacher, when they want me to give them some knowledge about something, I do that. That group we meet every Sunday evening. I engage in church activities sometimes during the week when I am able to go depending on my health (LA, Female)

SE for example had to “resign” from the job that she was doing during retirement in order to focus on church because she was not getting so much time and she was missing out on church activities.

Mine is church and my work…since I took up some role, in fact that is the reason why I resigned because I cannot make up for some of the routine services… I realized that I was really losing at that spiritual aspect. Because how do I make the money. I was earning almost ghc2000. So you make all this money and you forget God. How can you forget God? So that is why I resigned to have ample time (SE, Female)

From the interviews, we see a difference in how pensioners engage religious activities. Even though both men and women went to church, most of the women were more involved in church activities and held positions in the church. Some women were also part of groups in the church that were helping the poor, members of the group and also serving the ministers in the church. These funds are solicited from group members.

I belong to three societies in the church. We help each other in case of any misfortune. Anything that bothers you we are ready to back you. And then the second society is also another benevolent society in church. We do some benevolent activities in the church… Because I contribute to these groups, if there is something worrying me, they have to also come and contribute for me. When my husband passed on, they also came to help me. (VA, Female)

We take care of the needy, the destitute and Ministers. That is our work in the church so we contribute to look after our Reverend ministers. When they need something, we do that. When the children's service need something, we do that. And the needy in society too we give them our help. That is our Motto. We do provide for members. When members are in need, we help them (LA, Female)

I was part of an association. You know it was the women's fellowship… Now that I have resigned I think I will have time to meet the old folks because they need me to share experiences because in the past I was losing the social aspect (SE, Female)

These groups are not necessarily there as a resort for alternative income based on the narratives but a way to have support from members in times of need (both monetary and emotional support).

Outside the groups in the church, some of these pensioners, in most cases women also belong to associations. These associations are either pension groups or support networks. Some of these associations help members on contributory basis and some of them are also there to provide support and information to pensioners. This is also an opportunity for most of these retirees to network with some of their friends and share experiences and provide support for members

In the association, we contribute and help when someone is in need so if somebody has an issue, we will help. And this form of help is for members alone. There are no side benefits so if you do not contribute anything in the association, you will not get any benefits. However, if for any reason someone is unable to contribute due to a peculiar problem, we may consider the person in terms of help (MI, Female)

I am with the pensioners group. The association of retired teachers. I am in that group and we meet quarterly at the teachers hall. We talk about so many things. We talk about our health. We get people to talk to us about how to keep our health in the house and then maybe if there is some new policy that has come and we do not know, they let us know …We are able to interact with our old friends. Friends that we have not seen in a long time. (LA, Female)

Also, I belong to the retired army officers wives association. I am the treasurer and we go for executive meetings on the third Wednesday of every month and then fourth Wednesday we go for a general meeting and as for that one, we have support for ourselves. This takes my time sometimes because sitting without doing anything will weaken you but as you go and have fraternity with other people, you will feel consoled because you will meet some old friends and you will laugh and then heal your soul(VA, Female)

Some of these associations also provided help for members and they served as a support system for members in case they need help or information.

In summary, we see that some retirees still use their positions and experiences as a form of social prestige. This was however prevalent in the narratives of male pensioners which means that some pensioners still see themselves as having the wisdom that society accords them. We also see that due to technology and modernization, both male and female pensioners have moved beyond the traditional forms of communication to modern forms of communication which involves using mobile phones and social media platforms. Subsequently, we see that pensioners seek social and emotional support especially through religious activities like the church and other associations outside the church. Even though both men and women went to church, women were more involved in church activities and were part of associations outside the church.

Discussion

The results show that reciprocal care is still an important dimension in retirement but other means of ensuring income during retirement are mobilized. For example, in the case of most men, professional networks are a very important means of generating alternative income. This resonates with the literature which explains that due to the instrumental roles of men in society, as culturally defined in most cases, they are more likely to engage in more strategies from the world of work. For example, Cumming and Henry (1961) avow that the directions that men and women take in most cases differ significantly. Whiles women tend to focus more on emotional support and their families, men tend to give more credence to their work hence engaging in work-related activities. The underpinning theoretical model behind this form of arrangement was explained in disengagement perspectives. The disengagement theory explains that men and women try to align their roles to what they were engaged in whiles in active service. In essence men tend to mobilize professional ties whiles women pay much attention to their roles in the family (Cumming and Henry, 1967). However, these decisions in the study were usually influenced by the “technical skills” that they had in their previous jobs. These technical skills are more directed at creating something tangible like construction, carpentry and building. This is not to say that women did not have technical skills in the field. With most of the women in this study, more of the jobs that they occupied equipped them with transferable skills rather than technical skills that they can use to create something tangible. For example, they were engaged in jobs like teaching, accounting, nursing and directorship. The study reveals that the results of mobilizing professional network is rather nuanced between men and women. Even though this was prevalent among men in the study due to the working field and job positions, one woman also used such networks rather than focusing on domestic affairs. The woman who used the professional network in the study had a grandson but she was less involved in caregiving. From the narratives, we see that she was living in a rented apartment and her son's family were living somewhere. An earlier study by Anning (2012) explains that most older people in Ghana are no more living with their family members and children but rather, most of them have either rented apartments or are now living in their family houses. This partly explains the study's focus that most of the caregiving responsibilities in the modern era are becoming more influenced by socioeconomic circumstances rather than the socio-cultural environment. In this case, living arrangements “may” be a barrier to reciprocal care.

The results also reveal that reciprocal care tends to be more based on the nuclear family nowadays. Some of the pensioners narrated that there have been a breakdown of the extended family system which is making it quite difficult for them to get help from family members like uncles, aunties and cousins etc. Rather, most pensioners focus on the nuclear family which involves children, marital spouse(s) and other family members like brothers and sisters. The research by Aboderin (2004) explains that this form of development was partly influenced by the inculcation of western values such as individualism and secularism which resulted in the admiration of more emotional support from the nuclear family. This in turn is creating a gradual loss in the statuses and roles that older people were accorded in the Ghanaian society. In this respect, the influence from certain cultural norms that included the reciprocity of care and support has been weakened significantly. In modern day Ghana, support for the elderly is no more influenced greatly by social or cultural norms in the society. In the study, we see different forms of help within the family among male and female pensioners.

The first point of help was from children to pensioners. The findings indicate that pensioners, both men and women received some form of support from their children. These forms of support were provided either constantly or intermittently. The gender differences in receiving care was rather nuanced. From the analysis, women received more care from their children but an underlying factor that influenced this is that some of the men had younger children who were in school and were not working. This leads to the next point of help which was help from pensioners to children. From the study, we see that both male and female pensioners provided help for their children but the differences were just based on the nature of the help.

The study reveals that some of the men were still taking care of their children through school. This means that they still had the responsibility to pay fees as well as clothe and provide basic needs. Other women were also providing care based on different reasons. One woman was supporting his son because he was unemployed and he could not take care of himself without her help. The other woman was providing support for her grandchildren. This connects to the earlier literature which proclaims that because of their positions in society, some of them are required to nurture their grandchildren (Atobrah, 2016). This means that to some extent, some women are involved in such traditional roles. In the study, both the male and female pensioners received some help from their marital spouse. Most of them explained that this was a supplement for the family and couples are there to support each other. We see in the analysis that most of the pensioners explain that they live with their marital spouse. Two of the women did not receive such forms of help and this was because one was divorced and the other woman was widowed.

The results also reveals that generating alternative income can be on long-term basis or just an adjustment to the retirement situation. As seen in the interviews, not all alternative income yielded the desired outcomes. Whiles income avenues like rental income and the education of children tend to flourish, others do not work out as planned due to unforeseen circumstances. This was evident in the case of those who invested in banks. Both male and female pensioners planned for long term retirement strategies. We see that those who planned to rent out apartments are very satisfied with the outcome. These pensioners narrated that this form of income helps them to pay other bills and also gives them a good livelihood. From the results, we see that one woman made it clear that she planned this form of retirement strategy with her husband. This suggests that she sees herself as part of a unit in the family. The rest of the women did not show this form of collectiveness based on different reasons. One of the women was divorced, one was widowed and the other was able to fund the project through some savings from her private business.

Some of the pensioners invested in banks as part of their long term retirement plans but this did not go well because they faced liquidity problems and most of their monies got locked up. Both men and women invested in banks. The uncertainty faced by certain pensioners when making retirement plans based on bank loans shows that the traditional model of reciprocal care within the family remains an important source of stability in retirement. Other forms of generating income outside the family network are not necessarily stable as revealed in the potential instability of the banking sector in Ghana. The renting of properties appears, however, as a more stable source of income.

It is also apparent that due to the nature of the healthcare system in Ghana, retirees tend to use their retirement income on medications. A study Quadagno (2002) reveals that most elderly people face challenges because of the high costs associated to healthcare. Medical bills are very expensive in Ghana especially for older people because they suffer from long-term illnesses so some of these people spend their income on healthcare. However, in some cases, they are helped by their children in footing such bills. Others also use such income for transportation, paying bills and also donations which is common for those who are engaged in benevolent activities. In the study, there were no clear gender differences because both men and women used their alternative income on bills.

Previous studies suggests that Ageing in Ghana is mainly attributed to wisdom and maturity (Van Der Geest, 2002). In view of this, the elderly were consulted to offer guidance and also make very critical decisions because of their life experiences (Agyemang, 2014). We see a modern form of this culture in the results. Most of the men used their positions and experiences from their previous work fields as a form of social prestige. In the study, they were regarded as authority figures and some of them were contacted to provide training for trainees and also assess candidates in their fields. This means that they were still seen as having the requisite knowledge and skills to pass them to the upcoming generations.

In view of digitalization and modernization processes, the mode of communication among pensioners has changed significantly. The study reveals that most pensioners have moved to a digital way of communicating with family and friends and this involves speaking on the phone and chatting on social media platforms. This helps them to reconnect to people home and abroad. Both men and women explained that they use this form of communication pattern and this requires very little effort and less physical mobility. This, however, was not the traditional way of communication in the past. One other aspect that seemed very important to pensioners was emotional and social support. The results revealed that most of the women were more involved in religious activities especially church activities and they had various positions in church. This involves reading the bible in church and also teaching church members. This was common among women who had professional backgrounds.

This keeps them busy during the week. They were also part of various associations in and outside the church. In the church, most of them were part of the women's fellowship. Outside the church, they were involved in associations linked to their old jobs such as the nurses association. For others, it was the pensioners association of Ghana. From the narratives, it can be seen that these groups are not sources of alternative income but they join in order to provide support for one another and also engage in benevolent activities. One of the female pensioners said in the interview that when she lost her husband, her group members contributed money to support her with the funeral arrangements and even came to support her in person on the day of the funeral. This however does not mean that men do not go to church. Most of the men went to church but they do not have active roles neither are they part of groups as compared to the women. This aspect resonates with a research by Cumming and Henry (1967) who assert that women are most likely to seek more emotional support and they are likely to focus on social activities and associations. Tawiah (2011) also explains that associations serve as a channel of social capital for the elderly.

Conclusion

The purpose of this study was to explore the post-retirement survival strategies of low-income pensioners in Ghana. Nine (9) qualitative interviews were used to identify the various strategies that are undertaken or being carried out by retirees during their years as pensioners and whether there are any clear differences in these strategies between men and women. The research revealed that there are just some nuance differences in the alternative income strategies of men and women in Ghana. This was guided by theoretical perspectives which explain that in view of the instrumental cultural roles and responsibilities that men are accorded, they are likely to build alterative income beyond family ties to more contemporary forms of ties which are embedded in professional ties whereas women are likely to be seen in the emotional and affective sphere due to their roles of domestic care and support in society. The study sought to see if this makes men more work-oriented and women more family-oriented.

The results were rather mixed from the research especially for women. We see that women are still attached to the professional field in different ways and some may be more involved in caregiving within the family. The findings show that not all men are totally involved in the professional sphere. Even though a majority of men in this study were more or less found in the professional sphere, some men were not totally involved in any professional network. We therefore say that re-engagement was not mainly dependent on the sociocultural environment as explained by the previous literature. However, we see that this was influenced more by socioeconomic factors. These factors include their work fields and previous job positions. The findings also indicate that both male and female retirees are resorting to long-term strategies .We see that even though these strategies take a long time to prepare, they are very good alternative income avenues. This involves rental income, investing in education and investing in banks. However, we see that there are unforeseen circumstances which may affect investments in banks hence the family seems to be a stable source of support more or less in retirement.

Beyond material needs, we also find that modernization has also facilitated communication with friends and families through mobile phones and social media platforms. Unlike before where people needed to visit in person, they now take their mobile devices and they are able to reach people anywhere in the world. Many pensioners, both men and women use it as a way of reaching out to people. However, we see that pensioners also seek other channels for social and emotional support. The study reveals that even though men and women were going to church, some of the women were more involved in church activities and they had specific roles in the church. Aside the church, they are also part of other associations linked to their previous jobs.