Publications

Center for
Retirement Research
at Boston College
Hovey House
140 Commonwealth
Chestnut Hill
MA 02467-3808

617-552-1762 TEL
617-552-0191 FAX
crr@bc.edu

Briefs

Briefs offer concise and insightful analyses of topical issues.

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Do Low-Income Workers Benefit From 401(k) Plans?

by Eric Toder and Karen E. Smith

December 2011

IB#11-15

Introduction

401(k) plans – the main retirement savings vehicle for millions of workers – allow participants to save on a tax-deferred basis. This tax incentive is more valuable to workers in high-income families than workers in low-income families because they face higher marginal income tax rates. Not surprisingly, then, studies of the distributional effects of 401(k)s find that they mainly benefit high-income workers. However, these studies assume that employer contributions to 401(k)s do not affect the total compensation that each worker receives – that is, every worker “pays for” employer contributions in the form of lower wages. This brief challenges this assumption, testing whether employer contributions may actually increase total compensation for low-income workers, who may be more reluctant than high-income workers to accept wage reductions in exchange for retirement saving contributions...

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For related working paper

Eric Toder is a co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and a fellow at the Urban Institute. Karen E. Smith is a senior research associate at the Urban Institute. Both authors are also research associates of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

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