TY  - JOUR
AU  - Lusardi,Annamaria
AU  - Mitchell,Olivia S.
TI  - Financial Literacy and Planning: Implications for Retirement Wellbeing
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 17078
PY  - 2011
Y2  - May 2011
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w17078
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w17078.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
AB  - Relatively little is known about why people fail to plan for retirement and whether planning and information costs might affect retirement saving patterns. This paper reports on a purpose-built survey module on planning and financial literacy for the Health and Retirement Study which measures how people make financial plans, collect the information needed to make these plans, and implement the plans. We show that financial illiteracy is widespread among older Americans, particularly women, minorities, and the least educated.  We also find that the financially savvy are more likely to plan and to succeed in their planning, and they rely on formal methods such as retirement calculators, retirement seminars, and financial experts, instead of family/relatives or co-workers. These results have implications for targeted financial education efforts.
ER  -