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Crowd-Out, Education, and Employer Contributions to Workplace Pensions: Evidence from Canadian Tax Records

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  • Derek Messacar

    (Statistics Canada and Memorial University of Newfoundland)

Abstract

This study assesses whether workplace pensions help individuals overcome knowledge barriers to saving for retirement. Using administrative data from Canada and exploiting unique features of the pension system, I find compelling evidence that each $1 contributed to workplace pensions partially crowds out other retirement saving by approximately $0.50—among interior savers—in a regression kink design, centering on unionized workers for methodological reasons. Further analysis indicates that active versus passive decisions are influenced by education, exploiting compulsory schooling reforms for identification. I conclude by showing that pension and education reform are both viable mechanisms for boosting saving from a life cycle perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Derek Messacar, 2018. "Crowd-Out, Education, and Employer Contributions to Workplace Pensions: Evidence from Canadian Tax Records," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(4), pages 648-663, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:100:y:2018:i:4:p:648-663
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Derek Messacar, 2022. "Loss-Averse Tax Manipulation and Tax-Preferred Savings," Cahiers de recherche / Working Papers 8, Institut sur la retraite et l'épargne / Retirement and Savings Institute.
    2. Steeve Marchand, 2018. "Who Benefits from Tax-Preferred Savings Accounts?," Cahiers de recherche 1812, Chaire de recherche Industrielle Alliance sur les enjeux économiques des changements démographiques.
    3. Lavecchia, Adam M. & Tazhitdinova, Alisa, 2021. "Permanent and Transitory Responses to Capital Gains Taxes: Evidence from a Lifetime Exemption in Canada," IZA Discussion Papers 14331, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Messacar, Derek & Frenette, Marc, 2019. "Education savings plans, matching contributions, and household financial allocations: Evidence from a Canadian reform," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Chan, Marc K. & Morris, Todd & Polidano, Cain & Vu, Ha, 2022. "Income and saving responses to tax incentives for private retirement savings," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    6. Artur Rutkowski, 2019. "Evaluating an old-age voluntary saving scheme under incomplete rationality," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 3, pages 55-94.
    7. Fang, Tony & Messacar, Derek, 2019. "Voluntary Job Separations and Traditional versus Flexible Workplace Saving Plans: Evidence from Canada," IZA Discussion Papers 12262, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Jessica Leight & Nicholas Wilson, 2020. "Framing Flexible Spending Accounts: A Large‐Scale Field Experiment on Communicating the Return on Medical Savings Accounts," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 195-208, February.
    9. Messacar, Derek, 2023. "Loss-averse tax manipulation and tax-preferred savings," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 257-278.
    10. Adam M. Lavecchia, 2019. ""Back-Loaded" Tax Subsidies for Saving, Asset Location and Crowd-Out: Evidence from Tax-Free Savings Accounts," Department of Economics Working Papers 2019-04, McMaster University.
    11. Adam M. Lavecchia, 2024. "Family‐level responses to the introduction of Tax‐Free Savings Accounts," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 57(1), pages 108-139, February.
    12. Laurence O'Brien, 2023. "The effect of tax incentives on private pension saving," IFS Working Papers W23/10, Institute for Fiscal Studies.

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