RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Retirement Plan Type and Employee Mobility: The Role of Selection
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 0315-6997R1
DO 10.3368/jhr.52.3.0315-6997R1
A1 Goda, Gopi Shah
A1 Jones, Damon
A1 Manchester, Colleen Flaherty
YR 2016
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2016/08/15/jhr.52.3.0315-6997R1.abstract
AB Relative to defined benefit (DB) plans, defined contribution (DC) plans have been linked to greater employee mobility. Because employees with different underlying mobility tendencies may sort across plans or firms, the relationship between plan type and mobility may be due to selection. We identify the role of selection by exploiting a natural experiment at an employer in which the transition from a DB to a DC pension plan was affected by default rules. Using the default assignment as a source of exogenous variation in plan enrollment, we find that employees with higher mobility tendencies self-select into the DC plan.