Smaller than We Thought? The Effect of Automatic Savings Policies

Contributions: conceptualized paper (JJC, DL, JB), wrote paper (JJC), edited paper (DL, JB), implemented empirical analysis (JC, RL), project leadership (JJC, DL, JB). We thank Jessica Brooks, Harry Kosowsky, Justin Katz, and Lea Nagel for excellent research assistance, and Shlomo Benartzi, Richard Thaler, and audiences at LBS, Northeastern, Princeton, University of Southern California, Stanford, and University of Washington for useful comments. The research reported herein was performed pursuant to grant RDR18000003 from the US Social Security Administration (SSA) funded as part of the Retirement and Disability Research Consortium, and received additional support from the Eric M. Mindich Fund for Research on the Foundations of Human Behavior and the Pershing Square Fund for Research on the Foundations of Human Behavior. The opinions and conclusions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not represent the opinions or policy of SSA, any agency of the Federal Government, or NBER. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the contents of this report. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof.

• August 15, 2024