Search Results

This chapter discusses the basic determinants of the generation of wealth and its distribution across households; it has four sections. Section 7.1 considers the life cycle motive as a basis of household saving behaviour, paying particular attention to the role played by the pension annuity system. Section 7.2 discusses the role of education in transmitting wealth between parents and children. Section 7.3 turns to the topic of macroeconomics and looks at how the rate of return is determined in the long term, thereby showing how the theoretical discussions in this book form a general equilibrium framework. Section 7.4 takes up the question of asset and related expectations––asset price fluctuation is considered one of the major causes of generation of huge wealth in the short term, but there are various conflicting dimensions to this problem.

This chapter examines the factors that influence the saving behavior of an individual. It suggests that the decision to save rather than to spend a portion of income is in effect a decision to consume in the future rather than in the present and that this intertemporal choice can be analyzed using a budget constraint and indifference curves relating to present and future consumption. Evidence from the US indicates that an increase in real interest rates reduces borrowing and it has a small but positive net effect on aggregate household saving. This chapter also provides several relevant computational exercises and solutions.

This chapter examines the saving behavior of households in Germany. The findings reveal extraordinarily stable and sound levels of saving. Germans save regularly, in a manner that is planned, and often with a clearly defined purpose in mind. The result also indicates that precaution and old-age provision are the two most important savings motives in Germany. This chapter also explains that labor income in Germany has less individual variation than labor income in the United States and this reduces the precautionary savings motive.

This chapter, which describes a well-crafted financial education program implemented by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund, also assesses the effect of financial education seminars on retirement income goals and retirement saving behavior. The results show that participants in financial education seminars respond to the knowledge and information gained by altering their retirement goals and changing their saving behavior. In response to the seminars, the proportion of participants who changed either of their retirement goals was relatively small. Women are more likely to change goals and behavior after the seminar. Female respondents had much lower account balances in their retirement plans than men. Financial education can cause workers to reconsider their retirement goals and alter their saving behavior. The lack of financial literacy has resulted in movements to automate the retirement saving process.

In a previous study, the authors of this chapter evaluated the extent to which the different wealth accumulation of households with similar lifetime earnings could be accounted for by random shocks, such as health status and inheritances, that could reduce or increase the available resources out of which saving could be drawn. They concluded that only a small fraction of the dispersion in wealth accumulation within lifetime earnings deciles could be accounted for by random shocks, and thus that most of the dispersion could be attributed to choice; some people save while young, others do not. This chapter continues that analysis but with two additions: first, it evaluates the effect of investment choice on the accumulation of assets — in particular, how much of the dispersion in wealth can be accounted for by the choice between investment in the stock market and investment in presumably less risky assets such as bonds or bank saving accounts. Second, it attempts to understand the relationship between asset accumulation and individuals' assessment, just prior to retirement, of the adequacy of their saving and their saving behavior. The results indicate that the bulk of the dispersion in wealth at retirement results from the choice of some families to save while other similarly situated families choose to spend. For the most part, controlling for lifetime earnings, persons with little saving on the eve of retirement have simply chosen to save less and spend more over their lifetimes. Families with modest lifetime earnings would have accumulated substantial wealth had they saved consistently and invested prudently over the course of their working lives.

This book investigates the financial education programs that are in place, examines available investment products, and looks at the experiences of countries that have privatized the pension systems or experienced changes in the social security systems. It presents suggestions on how to enhance the effectiveness of these programs and products, thereby enabling the United States to make the transition to this new system more smoothly. The book shows that although the problems are many and the challenges daunting, programs can be designed to change saving behavior and overcome the saving slump now facing so many individuals. It also reveals that financial education programs can be effective and that increased literacy does result in better saving habits. Finally, an overview of the chapters included in the book is provided.

Low returns on financial assets and increasing longevity mean saving for retirement is becoming more challenging than it has been in the past. Generations retiring in the near term face increased longevity but have lived through periods with strong market returns boosting their assets, and many also have defined benefit plan entitlements. Younger generations, who also face increasing longevity, are unlikely to earn historical investment returns on their retirement portfolios, and few have traditional pensions. We model the likely outcomes for different cohorts under scenarios for savings behavior, investment returns, and longevity. While younger generations do face substantial challenges, we show that plausible courses of action involve increased contributions and delayed or partial retirement, which can provide reasonable income replacement rates in retirement. We map out the steps that the retirement industry (government, employers, and financial services providers) must take to support people in following these courses of action, such as providing more flexibility over social security.

This chapter presents systematic empirical evidence on the basic patterns of household asset allocation over the life cycle. This information can help to evaluate competing models of household portfolio behavior, and more generally to assess proposals for greater reliance on household choices in retirement preparation. Using multiple waves of the Surveys of Consumer Finances, it controls for systematic differences across birth cohorts in the age-specific pattern of asset ownership. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 2.1 describes the Surveys of Consumer Finances and presents summary statistics for each wave of data. Section 2.2 presents the econometric methodology for distinguishing age and cohort effects and analyzes the patterns of ownership and allocation of financial assets. Section 2.3 places the analysis of financial assets within the context of households' comprehensive balance sheets. The final section discusses several implications of the results, as well as directions for further research.