Deferring Income in Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans: The Dynamics of Participant Contributions

Karen Smith (), Richard Johnson () and Leslie A. Muller ()
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Leslie A. Muller: Social Security Administration

Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College from Center for Retirement Research

Abstract: This paper describes contributions to employer-sponsored retirement accounts, using newly available longitudinal data that combine administrative earnings records with survey data. The results reveal a fair amount of individual variability in contribution rates over time. However, potential negative shocks to income and increases in current consumption needs do not appear to lead workers to curtail their contributions. Instead, workers appear to raise their contribution rates after they have achieved key milestones in the lifecourse, such as the birth of a child or the purchase of a home.

Keywords: retirement plans; contribution rates; saving; pension (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 D91 J33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 48 pages
Date: 2004-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pbe
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Journal Article: Deferring Income in Employer–Sponsored Retirement Plans: The Dynamics of Participant Contributions (2004)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:crr:crrwps:2004-20

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