TY  - JOUR
AU  - Samwick,Andrew A.
AU  - Skinner,Jonathan
TI  - Abandoning the Nest Egg? 401(k) Plans and Inadequate Pension Saving
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 5568
PY  - 1996
Y2  - May 1996
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w5568
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w5568.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Andrew Samwick
6106 Rockefeller Hall
Department of Economics
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH 03755-3514
Tel: 603/646-2893
Fax: 603/646-2122
E-Mail: andrew.samwick@dartmouth.edu

Jonathan S. Skinner
Department of Economics
6106 Rockefeller Hall
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH 03755
Tel: 603/646-2535
Fax: 603/646-2122
E-Mail: jonathan.skinner@dartmouth.edu
M2  - featured in NBER digest on 1996-12-01
AB  - There has been rapid growth in `self-directed' pension programs such as the 401(k) plan.  Because such plans are voluntary, there is concern that many workers neglecting to contribute will reach retirement with inadequate pension saving.  First, we show that people who are eligible for 401(k)s, do not contribute to them, and have no alternative pension plan make up only 2-4 percent of the workforce. By contrast, nearly 50 percent of workers have no pension coverage at all.  Imposing mandatory 3 percent or 5 percent contribution rates will improve retirement prospects among the lowest decile of pension- eligible, but would have small aggregate effects.  Finally, restricting 401(k) withdrawals when the worker changes jobs could have a larger impact on retirement pension security.
ER  -