Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108WORK & RETIREMEN T 52 A later analysis, of 1992 to 1998 HRS data, found a similar lack of knowledge among older workers about their pension plans (Gustman and Steinmeier 2004c). With HRS participants’ per- mission, the researchers obtained Social Security Administration data about participant-specific earnings/benefits, and obtained detailed pen- sion plan descriptions from companies offering private pensions. This information was compared with participants’ self-reported knowledge of their Social Security and pension values and charac- teristics. Among respondents with linked pension data, only half correctly identified their pension plan type, and fewer than half correctly identified ages of eligibility within one year of the actual value. People who were close to retirement age (i.e., within 3 years) did only somewhat better at forecasting their ages of early retirement eligibility than did the sample as a whole. Lack of knowledge appears to have real conse- quences. One study compared the wealth and investment patterns of people who had received financial education at work with the patterns of those who had not, finding that financial edu- cation was associated with higher savings and higher wealth (Lusardi 2004). Such findings underscore that educating people about retire- ment planning makes a difference in how well they plan. The Impact of Stock Market Changes on Retirement Changes in the stock market can have an im- portant impact—either positive or negative—on older workers’ assets and decisions to retire, researchers tapping the HRS data have found. One study analyzed HRS data from 1992 to 2000 to estimate the effect of dramatic stock market changes on retirement (Gustman and Steinmeier 2002a). The study suggested that a stock market TBL. 2-5 Retirement satisfaction, by defined-benefit pension receipt and retirement duration: 2000 Source: Panis 2003. Not At All Sastisfied Moderately Satisfied Very Satisfied With a Defined-Benefit Pension 0–1 Years Retired 5.6% 30.5% 64.0% 2–4 Years Retired 4.1 27.3 68.6 5-10 Years Retired 5.3 28.5 66.2 10+ Years Retired 5.4 27.3 67.3 Without a Defined-Benefit Pension 0–1 Years Retired 10.9% 31.4% 57.7% 2–4 Years Retired 13.5 32.3 54.2 5-10 Years Retired 11.7 36.3 52.0 10+ Years Retired 14.6 38.6 46.9 remains relatively constant (Table 2-5). People with defined-benefit plans also tend to develop depressive symptoms at a notably slower pace than those without such plans. Knowledge About Pension Plans In the present environment of changing pen- sion provisions and potential Social Security reform, knowledge and expectations about future public and private pension benefits have greater salience than in the past. Workers are faced with many issues and choices that have both a financial dimension (e.g., that related to financial literacy, money management, and knowledge about public and private programs) and a “future assessment” dimension (e.g., that related to expectations about survival, the need for long-term care, stock market trends, infla- tion, and public policies). An early assessment of older workers’ knowl- edge about their retirement benefits painted a very mixed picture (Ekerdt and Hackney 2002). The vast majority of HRS respondents in 1992 were aware of the eligibility ages, distributions, and investment options associated with their employer-provided pensions. When asked to project personal pension wealth, though, one- third of workers in defined-benefit plans could not estimate an expected benefit amount, while one-fifth in defined-contribution plans did not know their account balances. More than half of respondents could not estimate their expected Social Security benefit, and one in seven did not know if their health insurance continued into retirement.