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Did 401(k) Plans Replace Other Employer Provided Pensions?

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Author Info
Leslie E. Papke
Mitchell Petersen
James M. Poterba

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Abstract

This paper reports the findings from a new survey of firms that provide 401(k) plans for their employees. Our results suggest that few 401(k) plans replaced pre-existing defined benefit pension plans, although a substantial fraction replaced previous defined contribution thrift and profit sharing plans. Our survey results also provide new evidence on patterns of 401(k) participation. We find significant persistence in firm-level participation rates from one year to the next, which supports the view that 401(k) participants are not making marginal decisions of whether or not to contribute to the plan in a given month, or even year, but rather make long-term commitments to participate in these plans.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 4501.

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Date of creation: Jun 1996
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Publication status: published relationship to a non-chapter. This should not happen. Please contact NBER.
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:4501

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Pension Funds; Other Private Financial Institutions

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. James M. Poterba & Steven F. Venti & David A. Wise, 1995. "401(k) Plans and Tax-Deferred Saving," NBER Working Papers 4181, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Leslie E. Papke, 1995. "Participation in and Contributions to 401(k) Pension Plans: Evidence om Plan Data," NBER Working Papers 4199, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Shefrin, Hersh M & Thaler, Richard H, 1988. "The Behavioral Life-Cycle Hypothesis," Economic Inquiry, Oxford University Press, vol. 26(4), pages 609-43, October.
  4. B. Douglas Bernheim & John B. Shoven, 1985. "Pension Funding and Saving," NBER Working Papers 1622, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
    • B. Douglas Bernheim & John B. Shoven, 1988. "Pension Funding and Saving," NBER Chapters, in: Pensions in the U.S. Economy, pages 85-114 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  5. Poterba, James M. & Venti, Steven F. & Wise, David A., 1995. "Do 401(k) contributions crowd out other personal saving?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 1-32, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Patrick J. Bayer & B. Douglas Bernheim & John Karl Scholz, 1996. "The Effects of Financial Education in the Workplace: Evidence from a Survey of Employers," Working Papers 96011, Stanford University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Stephanie Aaronson & Julia Coronado, 2005. "Are firms or workers behind the shift away from DB pension plan?," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2005-17, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
  3. William F. Bassett & Michael J. Fleming & Anthony P. Rodrigues, 1998. "How workers use 401(k) plans: the participation, contribution, and withdrawal decisions," Staff Reports 38, Federal Reserve Bank of New York. [Downloadable!]
  4. Gary V. Engelhardt, 2000. "Have 401(k)s Raised Household Saving? Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 33, McMaster University. [Downloadable!]
  5. Karen M. Pence, 2002. "401(k)s and household saving: new evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2002-6, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
  6. Julia Lynn Coronado & Phillip C. Copeland, 2003. "Cash balance pension plan conversions and the new economy," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2003-63, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
  7. Alicia H. Munnell & Annika SundÈn & Catherine Taylor, 2002. "What Determines 401(k) Participation And Contributions?," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College 2000-12, Center for Retirement Research. [Downloadable!]
  8. Robin Boadway & David Wildasin, 1994. "Taxation and savings: a survey," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 15(3), pages 19-63, August. [Downloadable!]
  9. Alan L. Gustman & Thomas L. Steinmeier, 1998. "Effects of Pensions on Saving: Analysis with Data from the Health and Retirement Study," NBER Working Papers 6681, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Karen E. Smith & Richard W. Johnson & Leslie A. Muller, 2004. "Deferring Income in Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans: The Dynamics of Participant Contributions," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College 2004-20, Center for Retirement Research. [Downloadable!]
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