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Deferring Income in Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans: The Dynamics of Participant Contributions

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by Karen E. Smith, Richard W. Johnson, and Leslie A. Muller

WP#2004-20  

Abstract

This paper describes contributions to employer-sponsored retirement accounts, using newly available longitudinal data that combine administrative earnings records with survey data. The results reveal a fair amount of individual variability in contribution rates over time. However, potential negative shocks to income and increases in current consumption needs do not appear to lead workers to curtail their contributions. Instead, workers appear to raise their contribution rates after they have achieved key milestones in the lifecourse, such as the birth of a child or the purchase of a home.

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Karen E. Smith and Richard W. Johnson are senior research associates in the Income and Benefits Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Leslie A. Muller is an economist at the Social Security Administration. The research reported herein was supported by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College pursuant to a grant from the U.S. Social Security Administration funded as part of the Retirement Research Consortium. The opinions and conclusions are solely those of the authors and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policy of the Social Security Administration or any agency of the Federal Government, the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, or the Urban Institute, its boards, or its funders.
Tags: Private Pensions, Working Papers,
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