PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Teresa Ghilarducci AU - Siavash Radpour AU - Anthony Webb TI - New Evidence on the Effect of Economic Shocks on Retirement Plan Withdrawals AID - 10.3905/jor.2019.1.046 DP - 2019 May 31 TA - The Journal of Retirement PG - 7--19 VI - 6 IP - 4 4099 - https://pm-research.com/content/6/4/7.short 4100 - https://pm-research.com/content/6/4/7.full AB - Using data from the Survey for Income and Program Participation (SIPP), this study investigates the relationship between withdrawals from 401(k) and IRA accounts and household-level economic shocks such as job loss, job change, divorce, and the onset of poor health. Workers in low-wage households are more likely to withdraw from their accounts than those in middle and high-income households, in part because they are more likely to withdraw when they experience a shock and also experience more shocks. Shocks are associated with about 20% of all retirement account withdrawals and exacerbate pre-existing inequalities in financial preparation for retirement.TOPICS: Retirement, legal/regulatory/public policy