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Who Takes Advantage of Tax-Deferred Savings Programs? Evidence From Federal Income Tax Data

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  • Joulfaian, David
  • Richardson, David

Abstract

This paper provides insight into the attributes of wage-earning households that participate in tax-deferred retirement savings plans. Examining data from federal tax returns, we find that approximately 52 percent of individuals and 55 percent of households participated in a retirement savings program in 1996. Excluding households with wages within the 1996 poverty thresholds and individuals under age 21 or over age 70, the age-wage restricted participation rates were 66 percent and 79 percent for individuals and households, respectively. Estimating probit equations, we find that households with a single-earner or having dependents are less likely to participate in a plan. Higher wage-earnings, non-labor income, and marginal tax rates tend to increase the probability of participation.

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  • Joulfaian, David & Richardson, David, 2001. "Who Takes Advantage of Tax-Deferred Savings Programs? Evidence From Federal Income Tax Data," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 54(3), pages 669-688, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:ntj:journl:v:54:y:2001:i:3:p:669-88
    DOI: 10.17310/ntj.2001.3.16
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ippolito, Richard A., 1998. "Pension Plans and Employee Performance," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226384559, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Sherraden & Mark Schreiner & Sondra Beverly, 2003. "Income, Institutions, and Saving Performance in Individual Development Accounts," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 17(1), pages 95-112, February.
    2. Gary V. Engelhardt & Anil Kumar, 2007. "Employer Matching and 401(k) Saving: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study," NBER Chapters, in: Public Policy and Retirement, Trans-Atlantic Public Economics Seminar (TAPES), pages 1920-1943, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Zhou, Jie, 2009. "The asset location puzzle: Taxes matter," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 955-969, April.
    4. Jun Feng, 2018. "Voluntary Retirement Savings: The Case of Australia," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 2-18, March.
    5. Matthew S. Rutledge & April Yanyuan Wu & Francis M. Vitagliano, "undated". "Do Tax Incentives Increase 401 (K) Retirement Saving? Evidence from the Adoption of Catch-Up Contributions," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 9e3f2369237e4d798025ac66e, Mathematica Policy Research.
    6. Giacomo Corneo & Johannes König & Carsten Schröder, 2018. "Distributional Effects of Subsidizing Retirement Savings Accounts: Evidence from Germany," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 74(4), pages 415-445, December.
    7. Bradley T. Heim & Ithai Z. Lurie, 2014. "Taxes, Income, And Retirement Savings: Differences By Permanent And Transitory Income," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 32(3), pages 592-617, July.
    8. Zhou, Jie, 2009. "The effects of employer matching and income risk in 401(k) plans," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 1193-1200, November.
    9. Zhou, Jie, 2012. "Life-cycle stock market participation in taxable and tax-deferred accounts," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 1814-1829.
    10. Anson T. Y. Ho & Jie Zhou, 2016. "Housing and Tax-Deferred Retirement Accounts," Staff Working Papers 16-24, Bank of Canada.

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