Working Paper: NBER ID: w19231
Authors: Steven G. Allen; Robert L. Clark; Jennifer Maki; Melinda Sandler Morrill
Abstract: Many organizations provide retirement planning seminars to their employees as a benefit to help them make better informed retirement decisions. This study examines the participants in 85 seminars conducted by five companies in 2008 and 2009 to determine how much learning takes place and whether employees adjust retirement plans. Using surveys conducted before and after the seminars, we find that financial literacy and knowledge of retirement program parameters are significantly higher after the seminar. Employees with the largest increases in knowledge were most likely to change their planned retirement age and planned age of claiming Social Security benefits.
Keywords: financial literacy; retirement planning; pension understanding; workplace education
JEL Codes: J14; J26; J32
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Attending retirement planning seminars (J26) | Increased financial literacy (G53) |
| Increased financial literacy (G53) | Changes in retirement plans (J26) |
| Attending retirement planning seminars (J26) | Changes in retirement plans (J26) |
| Increased financial literacy (G53) | Increased likelihood of delaying retirement (J26) |
| Increased financial literacy (G53) | Increased likelihood of adjusting social security claiming age (J26) |