Pre-Retirement Lump-Sum Pension Distributions and Retirement Income Security: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study

TitlePre-Retirement Lump-Sum Pension Distributions and Retirement Income Security: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2002
AuthorsEngelhardt, GV
JournalNational Tax Journal
Volume55
Issue4
Pagination665-
Call Numberpubs_2002_Engelhardt_GNatTaxJour.pdf
KeywordsMethodology, Net Worth and Assets, Pensions
Abstract

This paper uses the Health and Retirement Study to examine the extent of retirement wealth erosion from pre-retirement lump-sum pension distributions. There is little evidence that spent distributions have resulted in significant pension leakage. If spent distributions had been rolled over into a tax-qualified plan, they would have represented 5-11 percent of pension and Social Security wealth for the median household that spent a distribution. However, one-quarter of the households that spent distributions--which is 2.25 percent of all households age 51 to 61--could have increased retirement wealth by 25 percent or more had the distributions been rolled over.

URLhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/41789634
Endnote Keywords

Retirement Wealth/Pensions/Models, Theoretical

Endnote ID

6596

Citation Key6799