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Does Front-Loading Taxation Increase Savings? Evidence from Roth 401(k) Introductions

In: Personal Income Taxation and Household Behavior (TAPES)

Author

Listed:
  • John Beshears
  • James J. Choi
  • David Laibson
  • Brigitte C. Madrian

Abstract

Can governments increase private savings by taxing savings up front instead of in retirement? Roth 401(k) contributions are not tax-deductible in the contribution year, but withdrawals in retirement are untaxed. The more common before-tax 401(k) contribution is tax-deductible in the contribution year, but both principal and investment earnings are taxed upon withdrawal. Using administrative data from eleven companies that added a Roth contribution option to their existing 401(k) plan between 2006 and 2010, we find no evidence that total 401(k) contribution rates differ between employees hired before versus after Roth introduction, which implies that take-home pay declines and the amount of retirement consumption being purchased by 401(k) contributions increases after Roth introduction. We reject several neoclassical explanations for our null finding. Results from a survey experiment suggest two behavioral explanations: (1) employee confusion about and neglect of the tax properties of Roth balances and (2) partition dependence.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • John Beshears & James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2017. "Does Front-Loading Taxation Increase Savings? Evidence from Roth 401(k) Introductions," NBER Chapters, in: Personal Income Taxation and Household Behavior (TAPES), National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberch:13472
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    Cited by:

    1. Derek Messacar, 2022. "Loss-Averse Tax Manipulation and Tax-Preferred Savings," Cahiers de recherche / Working Papers 8, Institut sur la retraite et l'épargne / Retirement and Savings Institute.
    2. Arun Advani & Hannah Tarrant, 2021. "Behavioural responses to a wealth tax," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(3-4), pages 509-537, September.
    3. Blaufus, Kay & Chirvi, Malte & Huber, Hans-Peter & Maiterth, Ralf & Sureth-Slaone, Caren, 2020. "Tax misperception and its effects on decision making: A literature review," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 261, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    4. d’Astous, Philippe & Gemmo, Irina & Michaud, Pierre-Carl, 2024. "The quality of financial advice: What influences recommendations to clients?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    5. M. Martin Boyer & Philippe d’Astous & Pierre-Carl Michaud, 2019. "Tax-Sheltered Retirement Accounts: Can Financial Education Improve Decisions?," CIRANO Working Papers 2019s-10, CIRANO.
    6. Lin He & Zongxia Liang & Zhaojie Ren & Yilun Song, 2023. "Optimal Mix Among PAYGO, EET and Individual Savings," Papers 2302.09218, arXiv.org.
    7. Mattia Landoni & Stephen P Zeldes, 2025. "Should the Government Be Paying Investment Fees on $3 Trillion of Tax-Deferred Retirement Assets?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 38(4), pages 1014-1066.
    8. Jessica Leight & Nicholas Wilson, 2020. "Framing Flexible Spending Accounts: A Large‐Scale Field Experiment on Communicating the Return on Medical Savings Accounts," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 195-208, February.
    9. Derek Messacar, 2018. "The Effects of Vesting and Locking in Pension Assets on Participation in Employer-Sponsored Pension Plans," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 178-200, June.
    10. Blaufus, Kay & Milde, Michael & Schaefer, Marcel, 2022. "Saving at tax time: Do additional retroactive savings opportunities increase retirement savings?," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 272, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    11. Beshears, John & Kosowsky, Harry, 2020. "Nudging: Progress to date and future directions," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 161(S), pages 3-19.
    12. Marie Briere & James Poterba & Ariane Szafarz, 2024. "Does Tax Deductibility Increase Retirement Saving? Lessons from a French Natural Experiment," Working Papers CEB 24-014, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    13. John Beshears & James J. Choi & J. Mark Iwry & David C. John & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2020. "Building Emergency Savings through Employer-Sponsored Rainy-Day Savings Accounts," Tax Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(1), pages 43-90.
    14. Steeve Marchand, 2018. "Who Benefits from Tax-Preferred Savings Accounts?," Cahiers de recherche 1812, Chaire de recherche Industrielle Alliance sur les enjeux économiques des changements démographiques.
    15. Juan Ayuso & Juan F. Jimeno & Ernesto Villanueva, 2019. "The effects of the introduction of tax incentives on retirement saving," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 10(3), pages 211-249, November.
    16. Messacar, Derek, 2023. "Loss-averse tax manipulation and tax-preferred savings," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 257-278.
    17. Adam M. Lavecchia, 2019. ""Back-Loaded" Tax Subsidies for Saving, Asset Location and Crowd-Out: Evidence from Tax-Free Savings Accounts," Department of Economics Working Papers 2019-04, McMaster University.
    18. Brown, David C. & Cederburg, Scott & O’Doherty, Michael S., 2017. "Tax uncertainty and retirement savings diversification," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(3), pages 689-712.
    19. Mariana Carrera & Heather Royer & Mark Stehr & Justin Sydnor, 2020. "The Structure of Health Incentives: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(5), pages 1890-1908, May.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • G02 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Behavioral Finance: Underlying Principles
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H3 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents

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