Date of Conferral

9-11-2026

Date of Award

September 2026

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Social Work

Advisor

Nicole Hamilton

Abstract

Understanding debt and the quality of life in older adults after retirement is an important area of concern. Many older adults are forced by escalating debt to reduce spending on essential needs, such as health care, nutrition, and housing, and their physical and mental health is thereby directly compromised. These essential needs represent core social determinants of health, and their erosion under financial strain can have effects on older adults' overall well-being. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of human services practitioners who were actively assisting older adults struggling with debt in retirement, and to examine how debt decreases older adults’ quality of life. The theoretical framework was Ventegodt’s integrated quality of life theory with three interconnected tenets: subjective, existential, and objective. As part of the study’s generic qualitative approach, interviews were conducted with human services practitioners. The data were analyzed using Braun and Clark’s six-phase framework for thematic analysis. The results yielded six themes: medical needs; financial debt; community; needs for education, financial literacy, and early preparation; withdrawal, frustration, and mental health; and structural barriers and system complexity. For positive social change, it was indicated that quality of life is severely compromised by postretirement debt, as older adults are forced to ration health care and daily essential nutrition, contributing to pervasive psychological distress and social withdrawal. The study may inform human services about educational initiatives they can use to help older adults manage debt more effectively during the transition into retirement.

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