John Beshears|James J. Choi|David C. Ling|Brigitte Madrian
Behavioral economics perspectives on public sector pension plans
Stanford University
abstract describe pension plan features states largest cities counties us unlike private sector defined benefit db pensions still norm public sector however jurisdictions shifted toward defined contribution dc plans primary savings plan fiscal pressures likely generate movement direction holding fixed public employees work salary history show db retirement income replacement ratios vary greatly across jurisdictions creates large variation workers need save retirement accounts also substantial heterogeneity across jurisdictions savings generated primary dc plans differences level mandatory employer employee contributions one notable difference public private sector dc plans public sector primary dc plans characterized required employee employer contributions whereas private sector plans largely feature voluntary employee contributions supplemented employer match conclude applying lessons savings behavior private sector savings plans design public sector plans