Implications for Retirement Wellbeing of Financial Literacy and Planning

38 Pages Posted: 22 Oct 2010 Last revised: 26 Nov 2011

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)

Date Written: October 20, 2010

Abstract

Relatively little is known about why people fail to plan for retirement and whether planning and information costs might affect retirement saving patterns. This chapter reports on a purpose-built survey module on planning and financial literacy for the Health and Retirement Study which measures how people make financial plans, collect the information needed to make these plans, and implement the plans. We show that financial illiteracy is widespread among older Americans, particularly women, minorities, and the least educated. We also find that the financially savvy are more likely to plan and to succeed in their planning, and they rely on formal methods such as retirement calculators, retirement seminars, and financial experts, instead of family/relatives or co-workers. These results have implications for targeted financial education efforts.

Keywords: retirement, financial planning, literacy, interest, inflation, education, planning, knowledge

Suggested Citation

Lusardi, Annamaria and Mitchell, Olivia S., Implications for Retirement Wellbeing of Financial Literacy and Planning (October 20, 2010). Pension Research Council WP 2010-26, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1695146 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1695146

Annamaria Lusardi

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

366 Galvez Street
John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Building
Stanford, CA CA 94305
United States

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

Olivia S. Mitchell (Contact Author)

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)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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