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U.S. Workers' Investment Decisions for Participant-Directed Defined Contribution Pension Assets

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Author Info
Thomas L. Hungerford
Abstract

Two issues may have a tremendous impact on the adequacy of retirement income for today's workers: the growth of 401(k) pension plans and the possible privatization of Social Security. Workers are becoming increasingly responsible for the adequacy of their retirement income by determining how their retirement savings are invested. This paper examines the investment choices of workers covered by a defined contribution pension plan with responsibility for investments, specifically incorporating self-selection into DC pension plans. The results suggest that (1) current DC plan participants tend to be more aggressive investors than the general work force would be; (2) workers in certain demographic groups tend to invest their pension assets more conservatively than others; and (3) selection is present but appears to be economically unimportant.

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Paper provided by Levy Economics Institute, The in its series Economics Working Paper Archive with number 375.

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Date of creation: Mar 2003
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Handle: RePEc:lev:wrkpap:375

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    Other versions:
  2. John B. Shoven, 1999. "The Location and Allocation of Assets in Pension and Conventional Savings Accounts," NBER Working Papers 7007, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Martha Starr-McCluer & Annika Sunden, 1999. "Workers' knowledge of their pension coverage: a reevaluation," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 1999-05, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
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  5. Shlomo Benartzi & Richard H. Thaler, 2001. "Naive Diversification Strategies in Defined Contribution Saving Plans," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 79-98, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Thomas E. MaCurdy & John B. Shoven, 1992. "Stocks, Bonds, and Pension Wealth," NBER Chapters, in: Topics in the Economics of Aging, pages 61-78 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  7. E.K. Berndt & B.H. Hall & R.E. Hall, 1974. "Estimation and Inference in Nonlinear Structural Models," NBER Chapters, in: Annals of Economic and Social Measurement, Volume 3, number 4, pages 103-116 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Brad M. Barber & Terrance Odean, 2001. "Boys Will Be Boys: Gender, Overconfidence, And Common Stock Investment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 116(1), pages 261-292, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Alan L. Gustman & Thomas L. Steinmeier, 1999. "What People Don't Know About Their Pensions and Social Security: An Analysis Using Linked Data from the Health and Retirement Study," NBER Working Papers 7368, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Bodie, Zvi & Merton, Robert C. & Samuelson, William F., 1992. "Labor supply flexibility and portfolio choice in a life cycle model," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 16(3-4), pages 427-449. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  15. Gary Burtless, 2003. "How Would Financial Risk Affect Retirement Income Under Individual Accounts?," Issues in Brief ib-5, Center for Retirement Research. [Downloadable!]
  16. Hausman, J. A. & Abrevaya, Jason & Scott-Morton, F. M., 1998. "Misclassification of the dependent variable in a discrete-response setting," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 239-269, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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