This article examines how savings in defined contribution (DC) retirement plans vary across the earnings distribution. Specifically, the authors investigate the extent of an earnings gradient in access to, participation in, and levels of contribution to DC plans. Using a nationally...

Pension trends in the United States, marked by the movement toward defined contribution (DC) plans, raise questions about the individual characteristics that influence retirement saving behavior. This study examines how DC participants' industry and employer characteristics relate to the...

Long-term increases in life expectancy have varied for individuals with different lifetime earnings levels. This article examines two hypothetical adjustments to Social Security Old Age and Survivors Insurance benefits that would offset the differential changes in projected life expectancy. The...

Changes in American family and work patterns over the past decades have prompted various policy proposals for changing the structure of Social Security benefits. In this article, we use the Social Security Administration's Modeling Income in the Near Term (MINT) microsimulation model to project...

Social Security retirement benefits in the United States (US) reflect marital histories and lifetime earnings of current and former married couples. Focusing on the link between marital history and benefit eligibility, this article examines women's marital patterns over the past two decades....

Many observers question how the shift from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) retirement plans affects workers with different compensation levels. To advance the empirical basis for understanding pension outcomes, this article estimates DC plan participation and contribution rates...