A Cohort Analysis Of The Amount In Defined Contribution And Individual Retirement Accounts

Sharon A. DeVaney¹ and Tongxiao Catherine Zhang²

Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k) plans were introduced in the 1980s to encourage retirement saving. The amount saved in these accounts is likely to be affected by an individual's age, their cohort, and the economic conditions of the period. However, there is little research on the effect of age, period, and cohort on these accounts. To address this gap, six cohorts were developed from the 1986, 1992, and 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances. The amount in defined contribution accounts and IRA and Keogh savings increased with age, but period and cohort effects varied, especially for defined contribution account savings.
Key words: Age effect, Period effect, Cohort effect, Defined contribution accounts, Individual Retirement Accounts, Keogh plans

1. Sharon A. DeVaney, Associate Professor, Department of Consumer Sciences & Retailing, 216 Matthews Hall, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1262. Phone: 765-494-8300. Fax:  765-494-0869. E-mail: sdevaney@purdue.edu

2.  Tongxiao Catherine Zhang, Ph.D. student in Department of Decision Sciences and Information Technology, R. H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland at College Park, Van Munching Hall, College Park, MD 20742-1815 E-mail: tzhang@rhsmith.umd.edu

This study was supported by a grant from the Purdue Research Foundation.