Draft
Household Retirement Savings: Are Spouses Saving Together?
Feb 3, 2017
Improving Financial Decisionmaking
Through our Center for Financial and Economic Decisionmaking (CFED), RAND researchers study how individuals and families make financial decisions and examine how public policy can be leveraged to help improve financial stability.
Improving Financial Decisionmaking Related to Retirement
The decrease in defined benefit pension plans use, coupled with an increase in the life span, is shaping how individuals plan financially for their retirement. CFED researchers investigate how households save for retirement, invest their savings, and spend down their assets in retirement.
Building Financial Health amongst the Economically Vulnerable
CFED researchers design, implement, and evaluate interventions targeted at helping individuals build savings, improve credit, reduce debt, and strengthen financial literacy and capability.
Bringing Together Government Policymakers, Academia, and Industry
The RAND Behavioral Finance Forum is an annual conference and webinar series for federal government, academic, and industry leaders on behavioral finance topics such as retirement security, consumer financial protection, and financial advice.
Featured Research
Recent Publications
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Workplace financial wellbeing interventions for young workers: A review of the evidence and analysis of Britain's Healthiest Workplace (BHW) and Asia's Healthiest Workplace (AHW) surveys March 8, 2021
This study explores the impact of workplace financial wellbeing interventions (WFWI) on the mental health of young workers, through analysis of Britain and Asia's Healthiest Workplace survey data and a literature review. Findings suggest that WFWI are a potentially promising approach, but there is a pressing need for further evidence. Employees should consider implementing WFWI and we provide recommendations to support this process.
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Workplace financial wellbeing interventions and the mental health of young workers March 8, 2021
In this study we explore the likely and proven impact of workplace financial wellbeing interventions on the mental health of young workers, through analysis of Britain and Asia's Healthiest Workplace survey data and a literature review.
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How Did the Reintroduction of the Social Security Statement Change Workers' Expectations and Plans? March 3, 2021
This study fielded a survey in RAND's American Life Panel, coinciding with the partial reintroduction of the Social Security Statement. The findings indicate that regular mailings can play a role in shaping workers' retirement plans.
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Financial Literacy and Financial Decision-Making at Older Ages February 9, 2021
This paper examines how financial literacy is associated with three types of financial decisions pertinent to older individuals: adherence to timely credit card repayment, stock market participation, and risk diversification of household assets.
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RAND Behavioral Finance Forum: Financial Security Over the Lifespan February 2, 2021
The RAND Behavioral Finance Forum conference, held in partnership with AARP, was presented virtually in 2020. Leaders from academia, government, regulatory agencies, and industry were invited to share the latest research and exchange ideas on how to leverage behavioral principles to promote financial well-being, broadly conceived. The 2020 theme was "financial security over the lifespan."
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Heading into the Holidays, Americans' Financial Difficulties Continue December 17, 2020
In this report, the authors describe results from several waves of a survey fielded through the RAND Corporation's American Life Panel to assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on households' financial well-being. The authors find that the share of households experiencing difficulty with paying bills has increased throughout the pandemic. Those who experience difficulties are more likely to turn to informal methods to fund expenditures.
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Alternative Pathways to Retirement in a Household Context September 23, 2020
Provides a more robust understanding of retirement decisions by examining joint work-to-retirement trajectories.
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Choose Wisely: A Study of College Major Choice and Major Switching Behavior August 31, 2018
This dissertation explores the college major decision-making process, both for initial and subsequent major choices, and analyzes the associations between major choice behaviors and student outcomes such as time to degree and probability of graduation.
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Many Americans Follow Nontraditional Paths to Retirement: Cognitive Ability and Personality Traits Influence This Process July 30, 2018
Most U.S. seniors follow nonstandard retirement pathways. Seniors with better cognitive ability were more likely to follow nonstandard retirement pathways: In a studied sample, 59.1 percent of those with high cognitive ability had a job after age 65.
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The state of financial knowledge in college: New evidence from a national survey July 16, 2018
Explores gaps in financial knowledge and the overall state of financial literacy of college students.
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Cognitive Ability, Personality, and Pathways to Retirement: An Exploratory Study April 3, 2018
This paper explores the utility of two prominent psychological variables - cognitive ability and personality - as predictors, while also substantially expanding the detail with which retirement pathways can be characterized.
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Visual Tools and Narratives: New Ways to Improve Financial Literacy October 6, 2017
Our results suggest that educational programs that engage the user emotionally or physically and involve vicarious experience rather than text-based or passive educational programs are key for making gains in both financial literacy and confidence in financial knowledge.