Much attention has focused on the shift in the private sector from defined benefit to defined contribution plans, primarily 401(k)s. Often forgotten, however, is that, at any given moment in time, only about half of private sector workers are covered by any sort of employer-sponsored plan. This...

The National Retirement Risk Index measures the share of American households who are ‘at risk’ of being unable to maintain their pre-retirement stan­dard of living in retirement. The Index results from comparing households’ projected replacement rates – retirement income as a percent of...

The steep drop in financial markets in 2008 coupled with the ongoing economic recession pose immediate challenges for some public pension systems, particularly those that rely partly on equity investments. In the case of Sweden, the crisis provides an initial ‘stress test’ for a major...

Many data sources show a disparity among racial and ethnic groups regarding participation in and contributions to 401(k) plans. White workers participate at a higher rate and contribute a higher percentage than African American and Hispanic workers. However, few studies have explored whether...

Over the past half century, employer-sponsored defined benefit (DB) pensions have been crucial sources of retirement income and security. However, the popularity of DB pensions in the private sector has dwindled, and competitive pressures may drive DB plans from the private sector altogether....

Media attention on retirement security generally focuses on the need to save enough to enjoy a comfortable retirement. However, accumulating a nest egg is no longer the only significant challenge – the other is managing one’s nest egg in retirement. In contrast to previous birth cohorts who...

Over the past decade, a number of countries have adopted a new form of pension system known as “notional defined contribution” (NDC) pensions. Like traditional defined benefit (DB) pensions, NDC pensions operate largely on a pay-as-you-go basis, but base benefits on total lifetime...

Past studies that examine gender differences in investment decisions have treated married households as a single decision- making unit. This study improves upon traditional unitary bargaining models and estimates a series of unitary and collective-type models to investigate how a husband’s age...

This paper highlights geographic regions gaining and losing investment and social security income (collectively referred to as nonearnings income) through migration of baby boomers and their predecessors. There is a consistent Rustbelt to Sunbelt shift in nonearnings income due to migration, as...

This paper uses micro-census income data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) to measure the current and future burden of financing public transfers, especially benefits supporting the aged and near-aged. The analysis distinguishes between income obtained from households’ own saving and...