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Full-Text Articles in Economics
The Shift From Defined Benefit Pensions To 401(K) Plans And The Pension Assets Of The Baby Boom Cohort, James Poterba, Steven Venti, David A. Wise
The Shift From Defined Benefit Pensions To 401(K) Plans And The Pension Assets Of The Baby Boom Cohort, James Poterba, Steven Venti, David A. Wise
Dartmouth Scholarship
The rise of 401(k) plans and the decline of defined benefit plans will have an important effect on the wealth of future retirees. Changing demographic structure also will affect the aggregate stock of retirement wealth. We project the stock of assets held in retirement plans and the average retirement saving of retirees through 2040. Our projections show large increases in wealth at retirement, especially if the returns on corporate equities are comparable with historical returns. Retirement wealth will grow, however, even if equity returns fall substantially below their historical level.
Are You Sure You're Saving Enough For Retirement?, Jonathan Skinner
Are You Sure You're Saving Enough For Retirement?, Jonathan Skinner
Dartmouth Scholarship
Many view the soon-to-retire Baby Boomers as woefully unprepared for their golden years, while other economists have taken a more sanguine view of American levels of saving. And if Americans are failures at saving enough for retirement, why are some retirees so happy? The seemingly simple question of "Am I saving enough for retirement?" is apparently not so simple at all. Instead, it touches on a variety of deeper issues in economics, psychology, and health policy. I use the program ESPlanner to present life-cycle retirement wealth targets for a range of incomes and situations typical of American Economic Association members. …