It was reported in the Star recently that Malaysian men find life as retirees boring, while women are more likely to experience problems in their marriage and personal relationships post-retirement.

This was among the findings of the AXA Affin Life Insurance Bhd Retirement Scope Survey 2008 in which Malaysia participated for the first time.

Men were more likely to have difficulty creating or maintaining social networks out of the work place, the survey found, attributing this to men being less prepared to adapt to a more sedate pace of life when work and career were no longer a large part of their lives.

However, women felt trepidation for their marriage or relationships, although they were more secure financially.

According to the survey findings, women consider themselves better prepared psychologically for retirement, and thus are less likely to fall into boredom.

In Malaysia, 313 respondents aged 25 and above representing the working group participated in the survey, while there were 319 retirees aged 75 and below.

The survey was carried out in 26 countries.

Health-wise, about 50% of working male participants anticipated problems upon retirement, against only 17% females feeling that way.