1. Prepared for the U.S. Government Accountability Office
401(k) Rollovers
and
Financial Literacy
Prepared for the U.S. Government Accountability Office
Chicago Field Office
By:
McKinney Austin
Byron DeLuke
Karen Walsh
Peter Whalen
Dominique Williams

2. Background
● The retirement savings landscape has changed with increasing prevalence of defined contribution plans.
● U.S. workers have greater responsibility to prepare for retirement via savings and investments.

3. Background
 ● Increasingly, defined contribution plan accumulations are rolled into Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)  
● Potentially higher IRA fees can lead to reduced accumulation, standard of living
● Broad cross section of U.S. population is impacted

4. Research Questions
● To what extent do U.S. workers own IRAs and what are the demographic characteristics of IRA holders?
● Are rollovers a significant source of IRA assets and who rolls over?
 ● Are individuals who roll over aware of the option to leave assets in 401(k)s? 
 ● Are they aware of fees when rolling over? Are the fees transparent?
 ● What is the relationship between financial literacy and the rollover decision?

5. Research Methods ● Reviewed available literature
● Interviewed industry professionals  
● Analyzed Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data

6. To What Extent Do U.S. workers Own IRAs?
● An increasing proportion of retirement savings are held in IRAs
● Both IRA ownership and rollover activity span many demographic groups
● Share of IRA assets increases with age

7. Percentage of U.S.-based
IRA Ownership:
Percentage of U.S.-based
Financial Retirement Assets in IRAs,
Year
1985
1990
1999
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Percent in IRA
10% 18 29 33 34 35 36
Actual amount (trillions of dollars)
$0.2
0.6
2.7
3.7
4.2
4.8
3.6
4.3
Note: All values are nominal. Retirement assets include IRAs, annuities, and employee-sponsored DB and DC plans
Source: ICI, 2010.

8. Share of IRA Assets Increase to Age 70
Source: ICI, 2010

9. What are the Demographic Characteristics of IRA Holders?
● IRA ownership increases with:
● Family income
● Educational attainment of the head of household
● Family net worth
● Ownership rates are highest for middle-age individuals
● Individuals age account for the largest share of IRA assets
● Have worked for a long time; have not yet reached retirement age

10. Are Rollovers a Significant Source of IRA Assets and Who Rolls Over?
● U.S. workers change jobs with increasing frequency (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
● Vast majority of assets in traditional IRAs are from rollovers
● 2007: approximately 5% from contributions
● Rollovers
● Almost even across age groups
● Like IRA ownership, spread across demographic groups
● Unlike IRA ownership, no strong correlation with income

11. Employee Options upon Separation
● Keep account assets in the employer’s plan
● Rollover account assets to an IRA
● Invest the account assets in the new employer’s 401(k)
● Withdraw the account assets
● Annuitize the account assets

12. Option Selection
● According to Charles Schwab data, of the distributed 401(k) assets under their management:
● 80% were rolled over into an IRA
● 10% were taken as cash
● 8% were moved into a new employer’s 401(k)
● 2% were taken in other “forms of distribution”

13. Are Individuals Aware of
Options at Separation?
● Are 401(k) participants aware of their options upon separation from the employer?
● The plan must provide participants with information about their rights and benefits, including rollover options
● Do participants read the provided information?
● Our interviews suggest the answer is “no”

14. Factors Affecting the Rollover Decision
● Are individuals aware of IRA and 401(k) fees?
● What other factors might individuals consider when facing the rollover decision?

15. Are Individuals Aware of
401(k) and IRA Fees?
● Research suggests that about half of employed persons cannot identify their type of pension or plan
● An even higher portion are unaware of any associated fees
● This is critical because higher fees relate directly to lower returns

16. Are 401(k) and IRA Fees Transparent?
● Many 401(k) participants mistakenly believe the employer pays the fees
● Factors affecting fees paid:
● Amount invested in the account
● Terms negotiated between sponsor and provider
● Many providers bundle funds and/or administrative fees and fund expenses

17. New 401(k) Disclosure Rule
● New DOL rule goes into effect November 1, 2011
● Under new rule, annual statement must including:
● Administrative and individual services fees
● Performance after fees are subtracted
● Amount and description of investment fees
● Total annual operating expenses
● Statement about cumulative effect of fees on account growth

18. Relative Importance of Fees in the
Rollover Decision
● Other considerations:
● Investment options within plans
● 10% premature distribution penalty
● Tax treatment: employer stock
● Disposition at death
● Interviews suggest that investment options and customizability are primary rollover factor  

19. What is the Relationship Between Financial Literacy and Rollovers?
● Does financial literacy affect rollover decision? ● Financial literacy ● Knowledge and capacity required to effectively manage one’s long-term financial health ● Evidence suggests ambiguous relationship

20. Health and Retirement Study (HRS)
Data:
Health and Retirement Study (HRS)
● HRS is a national, longitudinal dataset managed by the University of Michigan
● Captures information from biennial interviews of over 22,000 Americans ages 50 and older
● Provides information about rollovers into IRAs

21. HRS Financial Literacy Questions
● If the chance of getting a disease is 10%, how many people out of 1,000 would be expected to get the disease?
● If 5 people all have the winning number in the lottery and the prize is 2 million dollars, how much will each of them get?
● Let’s say you have 200 dollars in a savings account. The account earns 10% interest per year. How much would you have in the account at the end of two years?

22. Defining the Sample ● Use respondent-level core data from 2006
● Include information from respondents who:
● Left an employer since 2004
● Had a DC plan
● Took only one action on their primary DC plan
● Rolled over to IRA, left assets in DC account, or withdrew
● Total sample size of 375 respondents

23. Sample Breakdown

24. Demographic Characteristics of the Sample

25. Methods for Analysis
● Compared correct response rates to financial literacy questions and education levels of those who rollover to:
● Those who left assets in DC plans, and
● Those who withdrew assets altogether
● T-tests used to test whether groups are significantly different

26. Limitations ● Small sample size
● Analysis does not control for other factors
● Results specific to sample population
● Financial literacy measures may not reflect knowledge required for rollover decision

27. Results
● Financial literacy and education levels are not significantly different between respondents who rolled assets into IRAs and respondents who left assets in their DC accounts
● Financial literacy and education levels are significantly higher for respondents who rolled assets into IRAs than respondents who withdrew assets

28. Correct response rates not statistically different between respondents who rolled over or left assets in DC accounts

29. Education levels not statistically different between respondents who rolled over or left assets in DC accounts

30. Correct response rates significantly higher for respondents who rolled over assets than respondents who withdrew assets
Significance levels: *** = 1 percent; ** = 5 percent

31. Education levels significantly higher for respondents who rolled over assets than respondents who withdrew assets
Significance level = 1 percent

32. Discussion Financial literacy measures capture useful information
Results consistent with literature and interviews
● Individuals may be:
● Unaware of fees
● Considering factors other than fees
● Ambiguous relationship between financial literacy and investment decisions

33. Conclusion
● IRAs are an important, growing source of retirement wealth. This issue applies to a significant number of individuals in the U.S. and cuts across demographic sectors.
● Basic measures of financial literacy (education levels, arithmetic skills) are not able to differentiate people who roll assets into IRAs rather than leave them in their DC accounts.

34. Recommendations
● Conduct further research on the outcomes of rollovers from a total wealth perspective
● Evaluate new financial disclosure requirements
● Address potential conflicts of interest among financial service providers offering rollovers to IRAs
● Determine whether withdrawal behavior warrants further study

35. To access the full report,
Thank you!
To access the full report,
please visit:

36. Appendix

37. Correct response rates and education levels not statistically different between respondents who rolled over or left assets in DC accounts
Variables
Rollover to IRA
Assets left in account
p-value
% Correct
Obs.
Financial literacy Q1
85.8
(3.1)
127
81.0
(3.2)
147
0.142
Financial literacy Q2
57.9
(4.4)
126
59.9
(4.1)
0.374
Financial literacy Q3
17.1
(3.6)
111
19.4
(3.5)
129
0.327
Mean
Years of education
14.1
(0.2)
131
14.0
154
0.347
Additional information about t-tests.
Standard deviations in parentheses.
P-values provided for one-tailed tests.

38. Correct response rates and education levels significantly higher for respondents who rolled over assets than respondents who withdrew assets
Variables
Rollover to IRA
Assets withdrawn
p-value
% Correct
Obs.
Financial literacy Q1
85.8
(3.1)
127
69.3
(4.9) 88
0.002
Financial literacy Q2
57.9
(4.4)
126
43.7
(5.3) 87
0.020
Financial literacy Q3
17.1
(3.6)
111
11.9
(4.0) 67
0.177
Mean
Years of education
14.1
(0.2)
131
12.2
(0.4) 89
0.000
Additional information about t-tests.
Standard deviations in parentheses.
P-values provided for one-tailed tests.