ABSTRACT
This study explores the impact of socioeconomic factors on the challenges faced by school teachers in health care planning after retirement. Socioeconomic factors such as gender, age, geographical location and income levels significantly influence the ability of retired teachers to secure adequate healthcare. Teachers often face financial constraints due to limited pensions or savings, which restricts access to quality healthcare services. Educational background plays a dual role: while teachers generally possess higher awareness about health needs, disparities in financial literacy and resource utilization hinder effective planning. Geographic location also matters; as urban teachers may access better facilities compared to their rural counterparts. Furthermore, social support systems, including family and community networks, alleviate some burdens but are not universally reliable. These factors intersect with systemic issues such as inflation, rising healthcare costs, and inadequacies in public healthcare policies to exacerbate challenges. The research underscores the need for tailored interventions, such as financial literacy programs, expanded healthcare benefits, and supportive policies that address the unique needs of retired educators. Understanding the socioeconomic dimensions is critical to developing holistic strategies that ensure equitable healthcare planning and enhance the post-retirement well-being of this demographic. Socioeconomic factors considered for the study are gender, age, geographical location, and income. The statistical tools used for analyzing data are t-test and ANOVA. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) IBM SPSS version 23.00 was used in this study. The result shows that socioeconomic factors have a significant effect on challenges in health care planning after retirement among school teachers in Ernakulam district.
