This paper analyzes questions related to defined contribution (DC) plans. For what types of households are statutory contribution limits likely to bind? How large is the lifetime tax benefit from participating in a DC plan and how does it vary with lifetime income? The authors find that...

Thanks to recent changes in the tax law, people can contribute more to their tax-deductible and non-tax-deductible savings plans, including 401(k) and Roth IRAs. But should they? The myriad interacting provisions of the tax code make it difficult to predict who will gain from government savings...

A proposal for a U.S. Social Security reform that gradually, but ultimately fully, privatizes the system. This proposal follows the no-harm, no-foul principle in that it preserves the benefits of older generations and yet promises the same or higher retirement benefits for the young.

Using data on older workers from the 1992 Health and Retirement Survey, along with an elaborate life-cycle planning model, the authors quantify the effect of each individual's death on the financial status of his or her survivors and the degree to which life insurance holdings moderate these...