NB21-22: Retirement Preparedness and Impacts of Outreach by Race/Ethnicity: A Review

There is extensive research on retirement preparedness and outreach, some of which assesses racial/ethnic disparities. This project will extract key findings from the literature in order to (1) identify areas where more work is needed, (2) shed light on some of the “unknown unknowns” that would benefit SSA policymaking, (3) facilitate future research by those who are new to these topics, in particular researchers at Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCUs) and minority serving institutions, and (4) build research capacity among Black women student researchers. The main aims of the project are to:
1) Conduct a literature review: We will summarize journal articles, working papers, and possibly preregistrations/analysis plans at the intersection of three main topics: (1) retirement preparedness andplanning (including some financial literacy); (2) the impacts of communication and outreach (includingsome behavioral topics such as framing and nudges); and (3) disparities by race and ethnicity.
2) Generate basic summary statistics: The above review will point to common findings from existing literature. To the extent that such findings suggest additional analysis that could be done with existing data, particularly along racial/ethnic dimensions, we will include those alongside the review. Likely data sources are the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Understanding America Study (UAS).
3) Mentor Black women collegiate scholars: Founded in 1881, Spelman College is an HBCU for women. Since joining Spelman in 2012, the PI has established VLab, a virtual lab that has engaged approximately 30 Spelman students in research experiences (www.angelinoviceisza.com/vlab). Two Spelman students will work with the PI on this project.