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401(k) participant behavior in a volatile economy

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  • BUTRICA, BARBARA A.
  • SMITH, KAREN E.

Abstract

The booms and busts of the late 1990s and 2000s have taken 401(k) plan participants on a rollercoaster ride. Using data from administrative tax records and household surveys, this paper examines how participants responded to these periods of economic expansions and contractions by documenting changes in 401(k) participation, contributions, and contribution rates from 1990 to 2009. Controlling for earnings, job changes, and other household factors, we find that workers reduce their 401(k) participation and contributions during recessions – suggesting that they may be responding to changes in their expectations about the economy and stock market. We estimate that changes in participant behavior during the Great Recession, in particular, could lower 401(k) assets of the typical 30-year-old by as much as 8% at age 62.

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  • Butrica, Barbara A. & Smith, Karen E., 2016. "401(k) participant behavior in a volatile economy ," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 1-29, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jpenef:v:15:y:2016:i:01:p:1-29_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Behzad Alimoradian & Jeffrey Jakubiak & Stephane Loisel & Yahia Salhi, 2023. "Understanding Key Drivers of Participant Cash Flows for Individually Managed Stable Value Funds," Risks, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-27, August.
    2. Jonathan Huntley & Valentina Michelangeli & Felix Reichling, 2021. "What drives investors to chase returns?," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1334, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    3. Teresa Ghilarducci & Joelle Saad-Lessler & Gayle Reznik, 2017. "Relative Wages in Aging America: Defined Contribution Wealth Inequality: Role of Earnings Shocks, Portfolio Choice, and Employer Contributions," SCEPA working paper series. 2017-06, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), The New School.
    4. Simonovits, András & Király, Balázs, 2016. "Megtakarítás és adózás egy önkéntes nyugdíjrendszerben - ágensalapú modellezés [Saving and taxation in a voluntary pension system: Towards an agent-based model]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(5), pages 473-500.
    5. James M. Poterba, 2014. "Retirement Security in an Aging Society," NBER Working Papers 19930, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Ghilarducci, Teresa & Saad-Lessler, Joelle & Reznik, Gayle, 2018. "Earnings volatility and 401(k) contributions," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(4), pages 554-575, October.
    7. Margaret J. Lay, 2019. "Pension Contributions, Pension Awareness, And Changing Personal Finances," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 37(4), pages 673-693, October.
    8. Joelle Saad-Lessler & Teresa Ghilarducci & Gayle Reznik, 2017. "Defined Contribution Wealth Inequality: Role of Earnings Shocks, Portfolio Choice, and Employer Contributions," SCEPA working paper series. 2017-09, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), The New School.

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