Webinar by Susan Thorp (University of Sydney)

Speaker: Susan Thorp (University of Sydney)

Abstract: We analyze multi-year changes in voluntary contributions and plan interactions of retirement savers, induced by projections of retirement incomes and lump sum balances. Data from a field trial in a large Australian pension plan shows that the frequency and average amount of participants’ voluntary contributions and interactions with the plan rose significantly in the first year of projection treatment and persisted into the second year of treatment. Using a related experimental survey, we show that both future income and balance projections are needed to motivate significantly higher, long-term voluntary contributions. These outcomes endorse recent efforts by pension regulators to enhance benefit statements using projections and identify effective projection formats.

Susan Thorp is Professor of Finance at the University of Sydney. She researches consumer finance, focusing on retirement savings. She uses theoretical, empirical and experimental techniques to test consumer responses to advice, disclosures and choice architecture. Her research has been published in leading international academic journals including Management Science, the Review of Finance and the Economic Journal, and has attracted over four million dollars in public and industry funding. Susan is a member of the Steering Committee of the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pensions Index, a member of the Research Committee of the OECD/International Network on Financial Education and a Director of Super Consumers Australia.

This webinar is presented by the International Pension Research Association (IPRA).

About IPRA

IPRA is an international organisation established with the aim of improving the quality and impact of research on pensions and related ageing issues to optimise social and economic outcomes for an ageing world. Its inaugural executive committee comprises representatives of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS), OECD, Netspar at Tilburg University, Pension Research Council at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and WTW.

Enquiries : cepar@unsw.edu.au or admin@iprassn.org