Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T13:38:18.921Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Does information about the pension system affect knowledge and retirement plans? Evidence from a survey experiment*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2013

HENNING FINSERAAS  and
NIKLAS JAKOBSSON
HENNING FINSERAAS
Affiliation:
Institute for Social Research (ISF) and Norwegian Social Research (NOVA)
NIKLAS JAKOBSSON
Affiliation:
Norwegian Social Research (NOVA) (e-mail: [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We present the results of a survey experiment where the treatment group was provided with an information brochure regarding recently implemented changes in the Norwegian pension system, whereas a control group was not. We find that those who received the information are more likely to respond correctly to questions regarding the new pension system. The information effect is larger for those with high education, but only for the most complex aspect of the reform. Despite greater knowledge of the reform in the treatment group, we find no differences between the treatment and control group in their preferences regarding when to retire or whether to combine work and pension uptake.

Keywords

H30J26Experimentinformationpensionpension systemretirementsurvey
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Pension Economics & Finance , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , July 2014 , pp. 250 - 271
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

We would like to thank Jon Ivar Elstad and Axel West Pedersen for useful comments and suggestions. The research reported in this paper was supported by a grant from the Research Council of Norway (project no. 210446).

References

Angrist, Joshua D. and Pischke, Jorn-Steffen (2009) Mostly Harmless Econometrics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bhandari, Gokul and Deaves, Richard (2008) Misinformed and informed asset allocation decisions of self-directed retirement plan members. Journal of Economic Psychology, 29(4): 473–490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binswanger, Johannes and Carman, Katherine G. (2012) How real people make long-term decisions: the case of retirement preparation. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 81(1): 39–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blackwell, Matthew, Iacus, Stefano, King, Gary and Porro, Guiseppe (2009) Cem: coarsened exact matching in Stata. Stata Journal, 9(4): 524–546.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chan, Sewin and Stevens, Ann Huff (2004) Do changes in pension incentives affect retirement? A longitudinal study of subjective retirement expectations. Journal of Public Economics, 88(7): 1307–1333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chan, Sewin and Stevens, Ann Huff (2008) What you don't know can't help you: pension knowledge and retirement decision-making. Review of Economics and Statistics, 90(2): 253–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chetty, Ray and Saez, Emmanuel (2009) Teaching the Tax Code: Earnings Responses to an Experiment with EITC Recipients. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 14836.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chetty, Ray, Looney, Adam and Kroft, Kory (2009) Salience and Taxation: Theory and Evidence. American Economic Review, 99(4): 1145–1177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christensen, Arne Magnus, Fredriksen, Dennis, Lien, Ole-Christian and Stølen, Nils Martin (2012) Pension reform in Norway: combining an NDC approach and distributional goals. In Holzmann, Robert, Palmer, Edward and Robalino, David (eds), Nonfinancial Defined Contribution Pension Schemes in a Changing Pension World. Washington, DC: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Coile, Courtney and Gruber, Jonathan (2007) Future social security entitlements and the retirement decision. Review of Economics and Statistics, 89(2): 234–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dominitiz, Jeff, Hung, Angela and van Soest, Arthur (2007) Future Beneficiary Expectations of the Returns to Delayed Social Security Benefit Claiming and Choice Behavior. Michigan Retirement Research Center Working Paper 164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duflo, Esther and Saez, Emmanuel (2003) The role of information and social interactions in retirement plan decisions: evidence from a randomized experiment. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(3): 815–842.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hastings, Justine S. and Weinstein, Jeffrey M. (2008) Information, school choice, and academic achievement: evidence from two experiments. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 123(4): 1373–1414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hastings, Justine S. and Tejeda-Ashton, Lydia (2008) Financial Literacy, Information, and Demand Elasticity: Survey and Experimental Evidence From Mexico. NBER Working Paper 14538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hedesström, Henrik Svedsäter and Gärling, Tommy (2007) Determinants of the use of heuristic choice rules in the Swedish premium pension scheme: an internet-based survey. Journal of Economic Psychology, 28(1): 113–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iacus, Stefano M., King, Gary and Porro, Guiseppe (2012) Causal inference without balance checking: coarsened exact matching. Political Analysis, 20(1): 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Imai, Kosuke (2005) Do get-out-the-vote calls reduce turnout? The importance of statistical methods for field experiments. American Political Science Review, 99(2): 283–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, Robert (2010) The (Perceived) returns to education and the demand for schooling. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 125(2): 515–548.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liebman, Jeffrey B. and Luttmer, Erzo F.P. (2011) Would People Behave Differently If They Better Understood Social Security? Evidence From a Field Experiment. NBER Working Paper 17287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liebman, Jeffrey B., Luttmer, Erzo F.P. and Seif, David G. (2009) Labor supply responses to marginal social security benefits: evidence from discontinuities. Journal of Public Economics, 93(11–12): 1208–1223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mastrobuoni, Giovanni (2011) The role of information for retirement behavior: Evidence based on the stepwise introduction of the Social Security Statement. Journal of Public Economics, 95(7–8): 913–925.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nguyen, Trang (2008) Information, Role Models and Perceived Returns to Education: Experimental Evidence from Madagascar. Unpublished paper. Available online: www.povertyactionlab.org/sites/default/files/documents/Nguyen%202008.pdfGoogle Scholar
van Rooij, Maarten C.J., Lusardi, Annamaria and Alessie, Rob J.M. (2011) Financial literacy and retirement planning in the Netherlands. Journal of Economic Psychology, 32(4): 593–608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar