This paper examines data on financial sophistication among the U.S. older population, using a special-purpose module implemented in the Health and Retirement Study. We show that financial sophistication is deficient for older respondents (aged 55+). Specifically, many in this group lack a basic...

Many college and university 403(b) plans restrict the menu of investment choices to funds offered by TIAA-CREF, the current manager of over half of all 403(b) contributions. Further, in the face of Internal Revenue Code changes that will take effect in 2006 and will make 403(b) plan ERISA...

One of the critical challenges facing the 50 generation is deciding how to plan for retirement financing, how to convert assets into income and, generally, how to make sensible financial decisions for the next stage of their lives. Considering how complicated retirement planning and finance can...

This study investigated how immigrant status and life expectancy in the country of origin relate to variations in retirement savings among working age women in the U.S. Specifically, utilizing the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Cohort data, this study compared native-born Americans,...

This study investigates whether individual choices in the pension domain are vulnerable to the way alternatives are communicated to respondents. The analysis is based on a set of hypothetical questions posed in the DNB Household Survey as well as in the RAND American Life Panel on pension...

This paper reviews the results of many empirical and simulation studies EBRI has undertaken to determine whether future cohorts of retirees in the US are likely to have retirement income adequacy and the extent to which the voluntary retirement system is contributing to this objective in its...

A significant part of the development in pension provision in many countries is the emergence of ‘Target Date Funds' or TDFs. In this paper we examine the proposition of de-risking through life and the guidance offered by TDFs in the decumulation phase following retirement. We investigate the...

We evaluate retirement savings adequacy using a large panel of U.S. workers with a 401(k) account. We model medical expenditures, longevity, investment risk, and the likelihood of withdrawals due to hardship, job separation, and reaching age 59 1/2. Based on their current account balances,...