04.26.24

Improving outcomes: Boosting financial resilience and retirement readiness

Fireside Chat Blog
Summary Report

April 26, 2024 | Boston, MA

The TIAA Institute and the Pension Research Council co-hosted a Fellows Symposium on financial resilience and retirement readiness. Discussion topics included monetary incentives, financial wellbeing measures, retirement income and more, with these six new studies reviewed by leading scholars (noted in bold): 

Do Additional Dollars Buy Engagement? Effects of Monetary Incentives on Attending Financial Aid Counseling for At-Risk Students
James C. Cox, Georgia State University
Daniel Kreisman, Georgia State University
Stephen Shore, Georgia State University

Estimating the Effect of Employer Matching Contributions Offsetting Student Loan Debt 
Olivia S. Mitchell, University of Pennsylvania
Vanya Horneff, Goethe University Frankfurt
Raimond Maurer,  Goethe University Frankfurt

New insights into improving financial well-being
Jennifer Coats, Colorado State University
Vickie Bajtelsmit, Colorado State University

Does Being Prepared Produce Better Economic Outcomes?
Robert Clark, North Carolina State University
Olivia S. Mitchell, University of Pennsylvania

How Do Life Events Affect Retirement Timing? Evidence from Expectations Data
Aspen Gorry, Clemson University
Jonathan M. Leganza, Clemson University

Retirement, Social Security Deferral and Life Annuity Demand
Sita N. Slavov, George Mason University

This symposium and the presented research are part of the TIAA Institute’s ongoing behavioral finance initiative, which examines how behavioral biases affect Americans’ financial security.