Household Portfolios and Retirement Saving over the Life Cycle
US middle-class households invested 10% more of their investable wealth in the stock market in the past two decades than they did in the 1990s, and this share is now hump-shaped in age, declining after age 50. We present a range of evidence that the Pension Protection Act (PPA) — which allowed Target Date Funds (TDFs) as default options in retirement plans — played an important role. Younger (older) workers starting at the same firm after TDFs became the default option post-PPA, invested more (less) in stocks. in line with the TDF glide path. In contrast to portfolio allocations, contribution rates changed little following the PPA.
-
-
Copy CitationJonathan A. Parker, Antoinette Schoar, Allison T. Cole, and Duncan Simester, "Household Portfolios and Retirement Saving over the Life Cycle," NBER Working Paper 29881 (2022), https://doi.org/10.3386/w29881.Download Citation
-
-
Published Versions
Jonathan A. Parker & Antoinette Schoar & Allison Cole & Duncan Simester, 2025. "Household Portfolios and Retirement Saving over the Life Cycle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 80(5), pages 2739-2787, October, DOI: 10.1111/jofi.13473. citation courtesy of 
JONATHAN A. PARKER & ANTOINETTE SCHOAR & ALLISON COLE & DUNCAN SIMESTER, 2025. "Household Portfolios and Retirement Saving over the Life Cycle," The Journal of Finance, vol 80(5), pages 2739-2787.
Related
Topics
Programs
Working Groups
Conferences
More from the NBER
In addition to working papers, the NBER disseminates affiliates’ latest findings through a range of free periodicals—the NBER Reporter, the NBER Digest, the Bulletin on Health, the Bulletin on the Economics of Alzheimer's, and the Bulletin on Entrepreneurship—as well as research spotlights, lectures, and panel videos.
