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Simplifying choices in defined contribution retirement plan design: A case study

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  • Mitchell, Olivia S.
  • Keim, Donald B.

Abstract

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 firm altered their fund allocations when the employer streamlined its pension fund menu and deleted nearly half of the offered funds. Using administrative data, we examine the changes in plan participant investment choices that resulted from the streamlining and how these changes might affect participants' eventual retirement wellbeing. We show that streamlined participants' new allocations exhibited significantly lower within-fund turnover rates and expense ratios, and we estimate this could lead to aggregate savings for these participants over a 20-year period of $20.2M, or in excess of $9,400 per participant. Moreover, after the reform, streamlined participants' portfolios held significantly less equity and exhibited significantly lower risks by way of reduced exposures to most systematic risk factors, compared to their non-streamlined counterparts.

Suggested Citation

  • Mitchell, Olivia S. & Keim, Donald B., 2017. "Simplifying choices in defined contribution retirement plan design: A case study," CFS Working Paper Series 573, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:cfswop:573
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Beshears, John & Choi, James J. & Laibson, David & Madrian, Brigitte C., 2013. "Simplification and saving," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 130-145.
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    4. Brigitte C. Madrian & Dennis F. Shea, 2001. "The Power of Suggestion: Inertia in 401(k) Participation and Savings Behavior," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(4), pages 1149-1187.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mitchell, Olivia S. & Utkus, Stephen P., 2022. "Target-date funds and portfolio choice in 401(k) plans," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(4), pages 519-536, October.
    2. Kronlund, Mathias & Pool, Veronika K. & Sialm, Clemens & Stefanescu, Irina, 2021. "Out of sight no more? The effect of fee disclosures on 401(k) investment allocations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(2), pages 644-668.
    3. Robert L. Clark & Olivia S. Mitchell, 2020. "Target Date Defaults in a Public Sector Retirement Saving Plan," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(3), pages 1133-1149, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    retirement saving; default investment; pension; portfolio allocation; choice overload;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

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