Experimental Research on Retirement Decision-Making: Evidence from Replications

We adapt the design of four experimental studies on retirement decision-making and conduct replica-tions with a larger online sample from the broader population. We replicate most of the main effects of the original studies. In particular, we confirm that consumption decisions are less efficient when sub-jects need to borrow from the future than when they need to save from the present. When subjects collect retirement benefits as lump sum instead of annuities, they choose to retire later, as suggested by the original study. We also confirm that savings are higher when they are incentivized with matching contributions than when incentivized with tax rebates. However, when faced with varying survival risks, subjects in our replication make only partial adjustments to spending paths when ambiguity is reduced. We also propose a further experimental research agenda in related topics and discuss practical issues on subject recruitment, attrition, and redesign of complex tasks.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

Automated summary

We modified the design of four experimental studies on retirement decision-making and replicated the studies using a larger online sample. Most of the original studies' main effects were replicated. Specifically, we confirmed that consumption decisions are less efficient when subjects need to borrow from the future compared to saving from the present. Choosing to retire later when receiving retirement benefits as a lump sum instead of annuities was also confirmed. Additionally, we found that savings are higher when incentivized with matching contributions rather than tax rebates. However, our replication study revealed that subjects only made partial adjustments to spending paths when faced with varying survival risks and reduced ambiguity. We also discussed future research agendas and practical issues related to subject recruitment, attrition, and task redesign.