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Life-cycle saving, limits on contributions to DC pension plans, and lifetime tax benefits

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Author Info
Jagadeesh Gokhale
Laurence J. Kotlikoff
Mark J. Warshawsky

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Abstract

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 contribution limits bind for households that begin their plan participation late in life or wish to retire early, single-earner households, those who are not borrowing-constrained, those with rapid rates of real wage growth, and those with high levels of earnings regardless of age. Setting contribution rates at the average maximum level allowed by employers and assuming a 4% real return on assets, the lifetime benefit rises from 2% of lifetime consumption for households earning $25,000 per year, to 9.8% for those earning $300,000 per year. Contribution ceilings limit the benefit for high earners and are sensitive to the assumed rate of return.

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Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland in its series Working Paper with number 0102.

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Length: 1-42
Date of creation: 2001
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedcwp:0102

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Keywords: Saving and investment ; Retirement;

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Laurence J. Kotlikoff & Lawrence H. Summers, 1981. "The Role of Intergenerational Transfers in Aggregate Capital Accumulation," NBER Working Papers 0445, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. B. Douglas Bernheim & John B. Shoven, 1991. "National Saving and Economic Performance," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number bern91-2.
  3. Chris Carroll & Lawrence H. Summers, 1989. "Consumption Growth Parallels Income Growth: Some New Evidence," NBER Working Papers 3090, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Glenn R. Hubbard & Jonathan Skinner & Stephen P. Zeldes, . "Precautionary Saving and Social Insurance," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 3-95, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
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  5. Jagadeesh Gokhale & Laurence J. Kotlikoff & John Sabelhaus, 1995. "Understanding the postwar decline in United States saving: a cohort analysis," Working Paper 9518, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. [Downloadable!]
  6. B. Douglas Bernheim et al., 2000. "How Much Should Americans Be Saving for Retirement?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(2), pages 288-292, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Poterba, James M. & Venti, Steven F. & Wise, David A., 1995. "Do 401(k) contributions crowd out other personal saving?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 1-32, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Mark J. Warshawsky & John Ameriks, . "How Prepared Are Americans for Retirement?," Pension Research Council Working Papers 98-11, Wharton School Pension Research Council, University of Pennsylvania.
  9. Jagadeesh Gokhale & Laurence J. Kotlikoff & Mark J. Warshawsky, 1999. "Comparing the Economic and Conventional Approaches to Financial Planning," NBER Working Papers 7321, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Sanchez-Romero, Miguel, 2005. "“Welfare Gains and Annuities Demand”," Working Papers in Economic Theory 2005/02, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), Department of Economic Analysis (Economic Theory and Economic History). [Downloadable!]
  2. Jagadeesh Gokhale & Laurence J. Kotlikoff & Todd Neumann, 2001. "Does participating in a 401(k) raise your lifetime taxes?," Working Paper 0108, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Jagadeesh Gokhale & Laurence J. Kotlikoff, 2001. "Who gets paid to save?," Working Paper 0114, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
    • Jagadeesh Gokhale & Laurence J. Kotlikoff, 2003. "Who Gets Paid to Save?," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 17, pages 111-140 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  4. Katherine Grace Carman & Jagadeesh Gokhale & Laurence J. Kotlikoff, 2003. "The Impact on Consumption and Saving of Current and Future Fiscal Policies," NBER Working Papers 10085, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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