Baby Boomer Retirement Security: The Roles of Planning, Financial Literacy, and Housing Wealth

40 Pages Posted: 17 Oct 2006 Last revised: 21 Nov 2022

See all articles by Annamaria Lusardi

Annamaria Lusardi

Stanford University - Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research

Olivia S. Mitchell

University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School; University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School, Pension Research Council; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Date Written: October 2006

Abstract

We compare wealth holdings across two cohorts of the Health and Retirement Study: the early Baby Boomers in 2004, and individuals in the same age group in 1992. Levels and patterns of total net worth have changed relatively little over time, though Boomers rely more on housing equity than their predecessors. Most important, planners in both cohorts arrive close to retirement with much higher wealth levels and display higher financial literacy than non-planners. Instrumental variables estimates show that planning behavior can explain the differences in savings and why some people arrive close to retirement with very little or no wealth.

Suggested Citation

Lusardi, Annamaria and Mitchell, Olivia S., Baby Boomer Retirement Security: The Roles of Planning, Financial Literacy, and Housing Wealth (October 2006). NBER Working Paper No. w12585, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=936586

Annamaria Lusardi (Contact Author)

Stanford University - Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://siepr.stanford.edu/people/annamaria-lusardi

Olivia S. Mitchell

University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School ( email )

Philadelphia, PA 19104-6365
United States

University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School, Pension Research Council ( email )

3302 Steinberg Hall-Dietrich Hall
3620 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6302
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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