How Much Do Respondents in the Health and Retirement Study Know About Their Tax-deferred Contribution Plans? A Crosscohort Comparison
dc.contributor.author | Dushi, Irena | |
dc.contributor.author | Honig, Marjorie | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2009-12-08T16:37:43Z | |
dc.date.available | 2009-12-08T16:37:43Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2008-12 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/64473 | |
dc.description.abstract | We use information from Social Security earnings records to examine the accuracy of survey responses regarding participation in tax-deferred pension plans. As employer-provided defined benefit pensions are replaced by voluntary contribution plans, employees’ understanding of the link between their annual contribution decisions and their post-retirement wealth is becoming increasingly important. We examine the extent to which wage-earners in the Health and Retirement Study correctly report their inclusion in tax-deferred contribution plans and, conditional on inclusion, their annual contributions. We use two samples representing different cohorts in two different periods: the original HRS cohort interviewed in 1992 at ages 51-61, and a combination of the War Babies and Early Baby Boomer cohorts at the same ages interviewed twelve years later. Our findings indicate that while respondents interviewed in 2004 were more likely to report correctly whether they were included in DC plans, they were no more accurate in reporting whether they contributed to their plans than respondents interviewed in 1992. Respondents in both cohorts, moreover, overestimated their annual contributions. In both 1992 and in 2004, the mean absolute difference between respondent-reported and Social Security earnings record contributions was 1.5 times larger than the mean earnings record contribution. | en_US |
dc.description.sponsorship | Social Security Administration | en_US |
dc.format.extent | 138191 bytes | |
dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
dc.publisher | Michigan Retirement Research Center, University of Michigan, P.O. Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 | en_US |
dc.relation.ispartofseries | WP 2008-201 | en_US |
dc.subject | WP 2008-201 | en_US |
dc.title | How Much Do Respondents in the Health and Retirement Study Know About Their Tax-deferred Contribution Plans? A Crosscohort Comparison | en_US |
dc.type | Working Paper | en_US |
dc.subject.hlbsecondlevel | Population and Demography | |
dc.subject.hlbtoplevel | Social Sciences | |
dc.contributor.affiliationum | Social Security Administration | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationum | Hunter College and CUNY | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationumcampus | Ann Arbor | en_US |
dc.description.bitstreamurl | http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64473/1/wp201.pdf | |
dc.owningcollname | Retirement and Disability Research Center, Michigan (MRDRC) |
Files in this item
Remediation of Harmful Language
The University of Michigan Library aims to describe library materials in a way that respects the people and communities who create, use, and are represented in our collections. Report harmful or offensive language in catalog records, finding aids, or elsewhere in our collections anonymously through our metadata feedback form. More information at Remediation of Harmful Language.
Accessibility
If you are unable to use this file in its current format, please select the Contact Us link and we can modify it to make it more accessible to you.