This paper investigates the effect of private pensions on the retirement wealth distribution. The model incorporates stochastic private pension coverage into a lifecycle model with stochastic earnings. The predictions of the calibrated model are compared to the distribution of retirement net...

This paper derives optimal employment contracts when workers are risk averse and there are employment and unemployment risks. Without income insurance, consumption rises during employment and falls during unemployment. Optimal employment contracts offer severance compensation and sometimes give...

A growing literature explores reasons for rising wealth inequality, but disregards the role of pension systems despite their well-understood infiuence on life-cycle saving. In theory and according to available evidence, both pay-as-you-go (PAYG) and fully-funded (FF) pension schemes crowd out...

Motivated by a popular perception that Roth accounts are welfare-improving for most people, this paper compares the effects of mandated Traditional (tax-deferred) or Roth (taxprepaid) retirement policies in a controlled laboratory setting. Selection effects, which complicate analyses of...

The growth and popularity of defined contribution pensions, along with the government's increasing attention to retirement plan costs and investment choices provided, make it important to understand how people select their retirement plan investments. This paper shows how employees in a large...

When the financial positions of pension funds worsen, regulations prescribe that pension funds reduce the gap between their assets (invested contributions) and their liabilities (accumulated pension promises). This paper quantifies the business cycle effects and distributional implications of...

The economic and financial landscape facing individuals as they move through their life-cycle is becoming increasing complex. Internationally, declines in the coverage and generosity of public programmes mean that individuals now need to assume responsibility for a greater share of their future...

Financial literacy is higher for men than for women and high financial literacy has been linked to higher wealth and better retirement planning. However, relatively little is known about the decision making process for retirement savings within couples and about how the gap or interaction...

Planning for retirement and subsequent execution of the plan are difficult, but essential for financial security in old age. To formally analyse the interplay between planning and self-control, I introduce cognitive costs of formulating a plan into the dual-self model of impulse control. The...

The main aim of the study is to identify the size of the pension gap in Poland and to estimate the level of supplementary savings needed to cover it. The issue of pension system income adequacy is first discussed, and the forecasted and targeted levels of replacement rates in Poland are...