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Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts: Are they Efficient in Increasing Savings and Growth?

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  • Hans Fehr
  • Christian Habermann
  • Fabian Kindermann

Abstract

The paper aims to assess tax-favored retirement accounts in a general-equilibrium overlapping-generations economy with idiosyncratic income risk and borrowing constraints. Our simulations indicate that tax-favored retirement accounts as implemented in many OECD countries will have a significant impact on savings and transitional capital accumulation. In our most preferred specification, the latter will rise by roughly 6%, while about 22% of retirement account contributions are additional savings. While existing generations are worse off, future generations benefit significantly from higher bequests, higher wages, and lower tax burdens. However, since the reform also alters the insurance provision of the tax system, aggregate efficiency effects are mostly either negative or insignificant. Finally, it turns out that withdrawal penalties and tax-exempted accounts have positive growth and distributional implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Hans Fehr & Christian Habermann & Fabian Kindermann, 2008. "Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts: Are they Efficient in Increasing Savings and Growth?," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 64(2), pages 171-198, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:mhr:finarc:urn:sici:0015-2218(200806)64:2_171:traate_2.0.tx_2-t
    DOI: 10.1628/001522108X334830
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    Cited by:

    1. Hans Fehr & Fabian Kindermann, 2010. "Pension Funding and Individual Accounts in Economies with Life-cyclers and Myopes," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo, vol. 56(3), pages 404-443, September.
    2. Richard Ochmann, 2014. "Differential income taxation and household asset allocation," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(8), pages 880-894, March.
    3. Hans Fehr, 2009. "Computable Stochastic Equilibrium Models and Their Use in Pension- and Ageing Research," De Economist, Springer, vol. 157(4), pages 359-416, December.
    4. Balázs Király & András Simonovits, 2019. "Learning to save in a voluntary pension system: toward an agent-based model," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 14(1), pages 121-145, March.
    5. Kudrna,George & Alan D. Woodland, 2015. "Progressive Tax Changes to Superannuation in a Lifecycle Framework," CESifo Working Paper Series 5645, CESifo.
    6. Harju, Jarkko, 2009. "Voluntary pension savings: the effects of the Finnish tax reform on savers' behaviour," Working Papers 7, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    7. Hans Fehr & Christian Habermann, 2008. "Private Retirement Savings in Germany: The Structure of Tax Incentives and Annuitization," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 133, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    8. Jukka Lassila & Tarmo Valkonen, 2015. "Longevity Risk and Taxation of Public Pensions," CESifo Working Paper Series 5640, CESifo.
    9. Andras Simonovits, 2009. "When and How to Subsidize Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts?," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 0902, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    10. George Kudrna & Alan D. Woodland, 2013. "Macroeconomic and Welfare Effects of the 2010 Changes to Mandatory Superannuation," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 89(287), pages 445-468, December.
    11. Jarkko Harju, 2013. "Voluntary Pension Savings and Tax Incentives: Evidence from Finland," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 69(1), pages 3-29, March.
    12. Simonovits, András, 2009. "Az önkéntes nyugdíjrendszer egy egyszerű modellje [A simple model of tax-favoured retirement accounts]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(10), pages 851-865.
    13. George Kudrna & Alan Woodland, 2012. "Progressive Tax Changes to Private Pensions in a Life-Cycle Framework," Working Papers 201209, ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales.
    14. Harju, Jarkko, 2009. "Voluntary pension savings: the effects of the Finnish tax reform on savers' behaviour," Working Papers 7, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    15. Martin Jacob, 2013. "Capital Gains Taxes and the Realization of Capital Gains and Losses - Evidence from German Income Tax Data," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 69(1), pages 30-56, March.
    16. Eren, Okan & Genç İleri, Şerife, 2022. "Life cycle analysis of savings accounts with matching contributions," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    17. 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.
    18. Balazs Kiraly & Andras Simonovits, 2016. "Saving and taxation in a voluntary pension system: Toward an agent-based model," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 1606, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    19. Hans Fehr & Christian Habermann, 2010. "Private retirement savings and mandatory annuitization," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 17(6), pages 640-661, December.
    20. Hans Fehr & Fabian Kindermann, 2010. "Pension Funding and Individual Accounts in Economies with Life-cyclers and Myopes," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 56(3), pages 404-443, September.
    21. Andras Simonovits, 2009. "A Simple Model of Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 0915, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    savings incentives; stochastic general-equilibrium models;

    JEL classification:

    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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