Retirement savings

Abstract

The topic of retirement savings can be considered from a prescriptive (normative) approach, for which the primary question is how much should a household accumulate for retirement. The topic can also be considered from a descriptive (positive) approach, for which the most important question is whether households are saving enough for retirement. Because analyses using the descriptive approach depend on assumptions about whether households are saving enough for retirement, the two approaches are related. In this chapter we review concepts and literature related to both approaches. We conclude with a discussion of whether households in the United States are saving enough for retirement. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.