Is the US retirement system contributing to rising wealth inequality?
S Devlin-Foltz, A Henriques… - RSF: The Russell Sage …, 2016 - rsfjournal.org
Data from the Survey of Consumer Finances for 1989 through 2013 reveal five broad
findings. First, overall retirement plan participation was stable or rising through 2007, though
overall participation fell noticeably in the wake of the Great Recession and has remained
lower. Second, cohort-based analysis of life-cycle trajectories shows that participation in
retirement plans is strongly correlated with income, and that the recent decline in
participation is concentrated among younger and low-to middle-income families. Third, the …
findings. First, overall retirement plan participation was stable or rising through 2007, though
overall participation fell noticeably in the wake of the Great Recession and has remained
lower. Second, cohort-based analysis of life-cycle trajectories shows that participation in
retirement plans is strongly correlated with income, and that the recent decline in
participation is concentrated among younger and low-to middle-income families. Third, the …