TY  - JOUR
AU  - Lusardi,Annamaria
AU  - Mitchell,Olivia S.
TI  - Baby Boomer Retirement Security: the Roles of Planning, Financial Literacy, and Housing Wealth
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 12585
PY  - 2006
Y2  - October 2006
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w12585
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w12585.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Annamaria Lusardi
The George Washington University
School of Business
2201 G Street, NW
Duques Hall, Suite 450E
Washington, DC 20052
Tel: 202-994-8410
E-Mail: alusardi@gwu.edu

Olivia S. Mitchell
University of Pennsylvania
Wharton School
3620 Locust Walk, St 3000 SH-DH
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6302
Tel: 215-898-0424
Fax: 215/898-0310
E-Mail: mitchelo@wharton.upenn.edu
M3  - presented at "SI 2006 Aging Workshops", July 24-28, 2006
AB  - We compare wealth holdings across two cohorts of the Health and Retirement Study: the early Baby Boomers in 2004, and individuals in the same age group in 1992. Levels and patterns of total net worth have changed relatively little over time, though Boomers rely more on housing equity than their predecessors. Most important, planners in both cohorts arrive close to retirement with much higher wealth levels and display higher financial literacy than non-planners. Instrumental variables estimates show that planning behavior can explain the differences in savings and why some people arrive close to retirement with very little or no wealth.
ER  -