The COVID-19 Early Release Scheme allowed Australian retirement plan participants in financial hardship immediate access to up to $A20,000 of their ‘preserved’ retirement savings, making otherwise illiquid balances temporarily liquid. Using administrative and survey data from a large...

In private pre-funded retirement savings systems, workers can be compelled by regulation to make minimum contributions to retirement accounts. We examine the impact of compulsory contributions into retirement savings (superannuation) accounts on individuals' lifetime consumption and wealth using...

Retirement saving is an area now jam-packed with defaults meant to address delayed or absent decision making. Yet, getting individuals engaged with retirement saving decisions is critical to avoid unsuitable one-size-fits-all defaults and optimise accumulated wealth. We apply a...

The COVID-19 Early Release Scheme allowed Australian retirement plan participants in financial hardship immediate access to up to $A20,000 of their ‘preserved’ retirement savings, making otherwise illiquid balances temporarily liquid. Using administrative and survey data from a large...

We conducted a choice experiment to investigate whether retirement savers follow simple portfolio theory when choosing investments. We modeled experimental survey data on 693 participants using a scale-adjusted version of the latent class choice model. Results show that underlying variability in...

We implement a customized survey to a representative sample of 1,024 Australians to examine the relationship between financial literacy and retirement planning. Overall we find aggregate levels of financial literacy similar to comparable countries with the young, least educated, unemployed and...

Existing research shows that adjustment to retirement is correlated with pre-retirement planning. This study presents new insights into the retirement preparedness of Australians at the later stages of working life. Recent surveys of those approaching and entering retirement show that the extent...

This paper presents new evidence from a national survey of non-retired individuals with superannuation accounts between the ages of 25 and 65. Fielded in June of 2012, the survey responses suggest that Australians often are ill informed about many important features of the superannuation system....

We investigate the role of capability and effort in the management of retirement ruin. In an experimental setting, we analyze how 854 DC plan members reallocated wealth between a lifetime annuity and a phased withdrawal account when we increased the risk of exhausting the phased withdrawal...

This research studies the propensity of individuals to violate implications of expected utility maximization in allocating retirement savings within a compulsory defined contribution retirement plan. The paper develops the implications and describes the construction and administration of a...