Retirement Contribution Rate Nudges and Plan Participation: Evidence from a Field Experiment

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2017
Volume: 107
Issue: 5
Pages: 456-61

Authors (3)

Jacob Goldin (not in RePEc) Tatiana Homonoff (New York University (NYU)) Will Tucker-Ray (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Simple interventions like changing the default or sending a short message can induce individuals to save more for retirement. However, messages that emphasize high savings rates may increase the amount that savings plan participants save while reducing the total number of plan participants. We study this possibility in the context of a field experiment designed to increase retirement savings by US military service-members. We find that service-members who received a message emphasizing a low contribution rate were more likely to participate in a savings plan than were service-members whose message emphasized a high contribution rate, or no rate at all.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:107:y:2017:i:5:p:456-61
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-02-02