Working Papers

• Retention or regressivity? The empirical effects of 401(k) vesting schedules, with Aaron Goodman, January 2025

  Vesting requirements are a common yet understudied feature of defined-contribution retirement plans. Using administrative recordkeeping data, we find that 30% of separations occur during participants’ vesting periods. The resulting forfeitures of employer contributions are concentrated among lower-income participants and make the distribution of 401(k) compensation significantly more regressive. Firms do not enjoy offsetting efficiency benefits: employing both cross-plan and within-plan identification strategies, we find no evidence that vesting exerts a causal retention effect. A linked survey shows informational frictions to be a key mechanism, as a majority of respondents do not know their current plan’s vesting rules.

  Presented at: NBER Aging Spring 2025, WFA 2025, SOLE 2025, NBER Summer Institute Household Finance 2025

Work in Progress

• The Design of Employer Sponsored Retirement Plan Match Schedules, with Taha Choukhmane, Kelly Hahn, Fiona Greig, Anna Madamba, Cormac O’Dea, and Lawrence Schmidt

• Elite Colleges in the Age of Mass Migration, with Florian Caro, Valerie Michelman, and Seth Zimmerman

Policy Reports

• Does 401(k) vesting help retain workers?, with Aaron Goodman, Febraury 2025

• Are Employers Optimizing Their 401(K) Match?, with Fiona Greig, Anna Madamba, Cormac O’Dea, Taha Choukhmane, and Lawrence Schmidt, May 2024