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      • Faculty Publications  (22)

      Retirement Savings Remove Retirement Savings →

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      • February 2022
      • Article

      Borrowing to Save? The Impact of Automatic Enrollment on Debt

      By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian and William L. Skimmyhorn
      Does automatic enrollment into a retirement plan increase financial distress due to increased borrowing outside the plan? We study a natural experiment created when the U.S. Army began automatically enrolling newly hired civilian employees into the Thrift Savings Plan....  View Details
      Keywords: Retirement Savings; Automatic Enrollment; Choice Architecture; Nudge; Financial Distress; Retirement; Saving; Borrowing and Debt; Behavior
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      Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, and William L. Skimmyhorn. "Borrowing to Save? The Impact of Automatic Enrollment on Debt." Journal of Finance 77, no. 1 (February 2022): 403–447.
      • Article

      Using Fresh Starts to Nudge Increased Retirement Savings

      By: John Beshears, Hengchen Dai, Katherine L. Milkman and Shlomo Benartzi
      We conducted a field experiment to study the effect of framing future moments in time as new beginnings (or “fresh starts”). University employees (N=6,082) received mailings with an opportunity to choose between increasing their contributions to a savings plan...  View Details
      Keywords: Choice Architecture; Randomized Field Experiment; Savings; New Beginning; Fresh Start; Saving; Retirement; Behavior
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      Beshears, John, Hengchen Dai, Katherine L. Milkman, and Shlomo Benartzi. "Using Fresh Starts to Nudge Increased Retirement Savings." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 167 (November 2021): 72–87.
      • January 2021
      • Case

      The FIRE Savings Calculator

      By: Michael Parzen and Paul J. Hamilton
      This case follows Carol Muñoz, a member of the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) lifestyle movement. At the age of 45, Carol is considering retiring and living off the $1 million she has accumulated. Using Monte Carlo simulation, Carol forecasts the...  View Details
      Keywords: Analysis; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Investment Return; Personal Finance; Saving; Risk and Uncertainty; Diversification; Theory; Financial Services Industry
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      Parzen, Michael, and Paul J. Hamilton. "The FIRE Savings Calculator." Harvard Business School Case 621-087, January 2021.
      • 2020
      • Chapter

      Building Emergency Savings Through Employer-Sponsored Rainy-Day Savings Accounts

      By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, J. Mark Iwry, David C. John, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
      Roughly half of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. When financial shocks occur during their working life, many of these households tap into their retirement savings accounts. We explore the practical considerations and challenges associated with helping households...  View Details
      Keywords: Savings; Household; Saving
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      Beshears, John, James J. Choi, J. Mark Iwry, David C. John, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Building Emergency Savings Through Employer-Sponsored Rainy-Day Savings Accounts." In Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 34, edited by Robert A. Moffitt, 43–90. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2020.
      • March 2020
      • Article

      Which Early Withdrawal Penalty Attracts the Most Deposits to a Commitment Savings Account?

      By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, Christopher Harris, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian and Jung Sakong
      Previous research has shown that some people voluntarily use commitment contracts that restrict their own choice sets. We study how people divide money between two accounts: a liquid account that permits unrestricted withdrawals and a commitment account that is...  View Details
      Keywords: Quasi-hyperbolic Discounting; Present Bias; Sophistication; Naiveté; Commitment; Flexibility; Savings; Contract Design; Defined Contribution Retirement Plan; 401 (K); IRA; Saving; Behavior; Contracts; Design; Interest Rates
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      Beshears, John, James J. Choi, Christopher Harris, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, and Jung Sakong. "Which Early Withdrawal Penalty Attracts the Most Deposits to a Commitment Savings Account?" Art. 104144. Journal of Public Economics 183 (March 2020).
      • 2020
      • Working Paper

      Cutting the Gordian Knot of Employee Health Care Benefits and Costs: A Corporate Model Built on Employee Choice

      By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Barak D. Richman
      The U.S. employer-based health insurance tax exclusion created a system of employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) with limited insurance choices and transparency that may lock employed households into health plans that are costlier or different from those they prefer to...  View Details
      Keywords: After-tax Income; Consumer-driven Health Care; Health Care Costs; Health Insurance; Income Inequality; Tax Policy; Health Care and Treatment; Cost; Insurance; Employees; Income; Taxation; Policy; United States
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      Herzlinger, Regina E., and Barak D. Richman. "Cutting the Gordian Knot of Employee Health Care Benefits and Costs: A Corporate Model Built on Employee Choice." Duke Law School Public Law & Legal Theory Series, No. 2020-4, December 2019. (Revised January 2021.)
      • 2018
      • Chapter

      Work and Workplace

      By: Kai Ruggeri, Jana Berkessel, Jascha Achterberg, Gerhard M. Prinz, Alessandra Luna-Navarro, Jon M. Jachimowicz and A.V. Whillans
      Work is a major part of many lives. While individual experiences with work will differ—from how long we work to what jobs we have and to what extent we enjoy them—almost everyone is affected by employment, whether they have a job or not. Decades of research in the...  View Details
      Keywords: Workplace; Behavioral Insights; Retirement Savings; Working Conditions; Employees; Performance; Happiness; Health; Job Search; Change
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      Ruggeri, Kai, Jana Berkessel, Jascha Achterberg, Gerhard M. Prinz, Alessandra Luna-Navarro, Jon M. Jachimowicz, and A.V. Whillans. "Work and Workplace." Chap. 9 in Behavioral Insights for Public Policy: Concepts and Cases, edited by Kai Ruggeri, 156–173. New York: Routledge, 2018.
      • Article

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

      By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
      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...  View Details
      Keywords: Saving; Retirement; Taxation
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      Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Does Front-Loading Taxation Increase Savings? Evidence from Roth 401(k) Introductions." Journal of Public Economics 151 (July 2017): 84–95.
      • Article

      Liquidity in Retirement Savings Systems: An International Comparison

      By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, Joshua Hurwitz, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
      We compare the liquidity that six developed countries have built into their employer-based defined contribution (DC) retirement schemes. In Germany, Singapore, and the UK, withdrawals are essentially banned no matter what kind of transitory income shock the household...  View Details
      Keywords: Saving; Financial Liquidity; Retirement; Canada; Germany; Australia; United Kingdom; United States; Singapore
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      Beshears, John, James J. Choi, Joshua Hurwitz, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Liquidity in Retirement Savings Systems: An International Comparison." American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 105, no. 5 (May 2015): 420–425.
      • Article

      The Effect of Providing Peer Information on Retirement Savings Decisions

      By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian and Katherine L. Milkman
      Using a field experiment in a 401(k) plan, we measure the effect of disseminating information about peer behavior on savings. Low-saving employees received simplified plan enrollment or contribution increase forms. A randomized subset of forms stated the fraction of...  View Details
      Keywords: Saving; Decision Choices and Conditions; Retirement
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      Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, and Katherine L. Milkman. "The Effect of Providing Peer Information on Retirement Savings Decisions." Journal of Finance 70, no. 3 (June 2015): 1161–1201.
      • November 2013
      • Article

      Simplification and Saving

      By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
      The daunting complexity of important financial decisions can lead to procrastination. We evaluate a low-cost intervention that substantially simplifies the retirement savings plan participation decision. Individuals received an opportunity to enroll in a retirement...  View Details
      Keywords: Retirement Savings; Simplification; Procrastination; Behavioral Economics; Saving; Motivation and Incentives; Retirement
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      Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Simplification and Saving." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 95 (November 2013): 130–145.
      • 2012
      • Chapter

      The Availability and Utilization of 401(k) Loans

      By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
      We document the loan provisions in 401(k) savings plans and how participants use 401(k) loans. Although only about 22% of savings plan participants who are allowed to borrow from their 401(k) have such a loan at any given point in time, almost half had used a 401(k)...  View Details
      Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Finance; Retirement; Financing and Loans; Microeconomics
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      Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "The Availability and Utilization of 401(k) Loans." In Investigations in the Economics of Aging, edited by David A. Wise, 145–172. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012.
      • 2012
      • Article

      The Excess Burden of Government Indecision

      By: Francisco J. Gomes, Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Luis M. Viceira
      Governments are known for procrastinating when it comes to resolving painful policy problems. Whatever the political motives for waiting to decide, procrastination distorts economic decisions relative to what would arise with early policy resolution. In so doing, it...  View Details
      Keywords: Saving; Risk and Uncertainty; Investment Portfolio; Decision Choices and Conditions; Retirement; Policy; Government and Politics
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      Gomes, Francisco J., Laurence J. Kotlikoff, and Luis M. Viceira. "The Excess Burden of Government Indecision." Tax Policy and the Economy 26 (2012): 125–163.
      • April 2011
      • Article

      Behavioral Economics Perspectives on Public Sector Pension Plans

      By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
      We describe the pension plan features of the states and the largest cities and counties in the U.S. Unlike in the private sector, defined benefit (DB) pensions are still the norm in the public sector. However, a few jurisdictions have shifted towards defined...  View Details
      Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Public Sector; Retirement; Private Sector; Compensation and Benefits; United States
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      Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Behavioral Economics Perspectives on Public Sector Pension Plans." Journal of Pension Economics & Finance 10, no. 2 (April 2011): 315–336.
      • 2008
      • Chapter

      Life-Cycle Funds

      By: Luis M. Viceira
      The U.S. retirement system has experienced a substantial transformation in recent years. It has evolved from a system in which employees relied mainly on Social Security and professionally managed defined benefit (DB) pension plans sponsored by their employers to...  View Details
      Keywords: Retirement; Personal Finance; Investment Funds; Compensation and Benefits; United States
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      Viceira, Luis M. "Life-Cycle Funds." Chap. 5 in Overcoming the Saving Slump: How to Increase the Effectiveness of Financial Education and Saving Programs, edited by Annamaria Lusardi. University of Chicago Press, 2008.
      • 2008
      • Chapter

      The Importance of Default Options for Retirement Saving Outcomes: Evidence from the United States

      By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
      This paper summarizes the empirical evidence on how defaults impact retirement savings outcomes. After outlining the salient features of the various sources of retirement income in the U.S., the paper presents the empirical evidence on how defaults impact retirement...  View Details
      Keywords: Saving; Financial Condition; Retirement; Investment Funds; Microeconomics; Outcome or Result; Government and Politics; Financial Institutions; Macroeconomics; United States
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      Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "The Importance of Default Options for Retirement Saving Outcomes: Evidence from the United States." In Lessons from Pension Reform in the Americas, edited by Stephen J. Kay and Tapen Sinha, 59–87. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
      • June 2007 (Revised January 2008)
      • Background Note

      The U.S. Retirement Savings Market and the Pension Protection Act of 2006

      By: Luis M. Viceira and Helen Tung
      Provides an overview of the evolution of the private retirement savings market in the U.S. since 1990; the management and administration of defined-contribution (DC) plans; the existing evidence about the investment and savings decisions of participants in DC plans;...  View Details
      Keywords: Investment; Personal Finance; Saving; Government Legislation; Retirement; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry; United States
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      Viceira, Luis M., and Helen Tung. "The U.S. Retirement Savings Market and the Pension Protection Act of 2006." Harvard Business School Background Note 207-130, June 2007. (Revised January 2008.)
      • June 2007 (Revised January 2008)
      • Case

      The Vanguard Group, Inc. in 2006 and Target Retirement Funds

      By: Luis M. Viceira
      The Vanguard Group is one of the largest asset managers in the U.S., with over $1 trillion in assets, ninety percent of which are mutual fund assets, and more than 12,000 employees at year-end 2006. Vanguard has built a strong reputation as the manager of reference for...  View Details
      Keywords: Asset Management; Investment Funds; Personal Finance; Brands and Branding; Retirement; Trust; Financial Services Industry; United States
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      Viceira, Luis M. "The Vanguard Group, Inc. in 2006 and Target Retirement Funds." Harvard Business School Case 207-129, June 2007. (Revised January 2008.)
      • August 2002 (Revised August 2002)
      • Case

      Raiser Senior Services--The Stratford (A)

      By: H. Kent Bowen and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld
      Focuses on modifying operations to increase profitability at an upscale senior care facility in California. Jennifer Raiser, president of Raiser Senior Services, opened the Stratford in 1992 as a high-end, continuing-care retirement community. Ten years later, the...  View Details
      Keywords: Cost Management; Profit; Saving; Health Care and Treatment; Age; Management Teams; Problems and Challenges; Ethics; Legal Liability; Business Growth and Maturation; Health Industry; Service Industry; California
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      Bowen, H. Kent, and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld. "Raiser Senior Services--The Stratford (A)." Harvard Business School Case 603-013, August 2002. (Revised August 2002.)
      • winter 1999
      • Article

      The Design and Production of New Retirement Savings Products

      By: Dwight B. Crane and Z. Bodie
      Keywords: Design; Retirement; Saving; Product
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      Crane, Dwight B., and Z. Bodie. "The Design and Production of New Retirement Savings Products." Journal of Portfolio Management 25, no. 2 (winter 1999): 77–82.
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