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Examining the Barriers to Annuity Ownership for Older Americans
October 05, 2021Abstract: The annuity take-up rate is lower than economic theory predicts.1 Using data from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study, we conduct an empirical analysis of individuals in the retirement-planning phase of the life cycle (ages 40–61) and individuals of… Read More »
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How Ordinary Consumers Make Complex Economic Decisions: Financial Literacy and Retirement Readiness
July 13, 2020This paper explores who is financially literate, whether people accurately perceive their own economic decision-making skills, and where these skills come from. Self-assessed and objective measures of financial literacy can be linked to consumers’ efforts to plan for retirement in… Read More »
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Defined Contribution Plans and the Challenge of Financial Illiteracy
June 13, 2019Abstract: Retirement investing in the United States has changed dramatically. The classic defined-benefit (DB) plan has largely been replaced by the defined-contribution (DC) plan. With the latter, individual employees’ decisions about how much to save for retirement and how to… Read More »
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Financial Literacy and the Need for Financial Education: Evidence and Implications
December 19, 2018Introduction Throughout their lifetime, individuals today are more responsible for their personal finances than ever before. With life expectancies rising, pension and social welfare systems are being strained. In many countries, employer-sponsored defined benefit (DB) pension plans are swiftly giving… Read More »
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Older Women’s Labor Market Attachment, Retirement Planning, and Household Debt
August 31, 2016Abstract: The goal of this paper is to ascertain whether older women’s current and anticipated future labor force patterns have changed over time, and if so, to evaluate the factors associated with longer work lives and plans to continue work at… Read More »
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How financially literate are women? An overview and new insights
June 16, 2016Abstract: We document strikingly similar gender differences in financial literacy across countries. When asked to answer questions that measure knowledge of basic financial concepts, women are less likely than men to answer correctly and more likely to indicate that they do… Read More »
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HOW FINANCIALLY LITERATE ARE WOMEN? AN OVERVIEW AND NEW INSIGHTS
February 19, 2016Abstract: We document strikingly similar gender differences in financial literacy across countries. When asked to answer questions that measure knowledge of basic financial concepts, women are less likely than men to answer correctly and more likely to indicate that they… Read More »
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Financial Literacy and Retirement Planning in Canada
September 09, 2015Abstract: In this paper, we draw on internationally comparable survey evidence on financial literacy and retirement planning in Canada to investigate how financially literate Canadians are and how financial literacy is linked to retirement planning. We find that 42 percent of… Read More »
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Financial Knowledge and 401(k) Investment Performance: A Case Study
June 22, 2015Abstract: We explore whether investors who are more financially knowledgeable earn more on their retirement plan investments compared to their less sophisticated counterparts, using a unique new dataset linking administrative data on investment performance and financial knowledge. Results show that the… Read More »
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Financial Literacy and Economic Outcomes: Evidence and Policy Implications
June 05, 2015Abstract: This paper reviews what we have learned over the past decade about financial literacy and its relationship to financial decision-making around the world. Using three questions, we have surveyed people in several countries to determine whether they have the fundamental… Read More »
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Testimony of Annamaria Lusardi Before the ERISA Advisory Council
May 28, 2015Summary: The transfer of risk from defined benefit plan sponsors to plan participants when offering lump sum distributions of pensions was the topic of Annamaria Lusardi’s testimony. In her testimony, she discussed the information that participants need to make informed decisions… Read More »
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Retirement Security
April 27, 20152015 White House Conference on Aging Watch the video of Lusardi's presentation.
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FIVE STEPS TO PLANNING SUCCESS: EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM U.S. HOUSEHOLDS
April 27, 2015Abstract: While financial knowledge has been linked to improved financial behaviour, there is little consensus on the value of financial education, in part because rigorous evaluation of various programmes has yielded mixed results. However, given the heterogeneity of financial education programmes… Read More »
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HOW FINANCIALLY LITERATE ARE WOMEN? AN OVERVIEW AND NEW INSIGHTS
March 27, 2015Abstract: We document strikingly similar gender differences in financial literacy across countries. When asked to answer questions that measure knowledge of basic financial concepts, women are less likely than men to answer correctly and more likely to indicate that they do… Read More »
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RISK LITERACY
March 27, 2015Abstract: I examine financial literacy—specifically knowledge of risk—using data from surveys in the United States and other countries. I show that risk literacy is very low; the majority of individuals lack knowledge of concepts such as risk diversification and do… Read More »
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FIVE STEPS TO PLANNING SUCCESS: EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM U.S. HOUSEHOLDS
December 17, 2014Abstract: In this paper, we design and field a low-cost, easily-replicable financial education program called “Five Steps,” covering five basic financial planning concepts that relate to retirement. We conduct a field experiment to evaluate the overall impact of “Five Steps” on a… Read More »
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FINANCIAL LITERACY AND RETIREMENT PLANNING IN CANADA
December 17, 2014Abstract: Financial literacy and Canadians’ capacity to plan for retirement is of primary importance for the policy debate over pension system reform in Canada. In this paper, we draw on internationally comparable survey evidence on financial literacy and retirement planning in… Read More »
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Annamaria Lusardi on Financial Literacy
October 21, 2012Summary: Dr. Annamaria Lusardi is all about encouraging young and not so young people to become financially literate and take the hope out of retirement planning and turn it into that certainty you deserve.
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Social Security and Retirement Decisions: The Impact of Knowledge and Framing
October 04, 2012Watch the video.
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What are the Real-World Framing Influences on Retirement Claiming Behavior?
June 21, 2012Watch the video.
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Financial literacy and retirement planning in the United States
October 11, 2011Abstract: We examine financial literacy in the US using the new National Financial Capability Study, wherein we demonstrate that financial literacy is particularly low among the young, women, and the less-educated. Moreover, Hispanics and African-Americans score the least well on… Read More »