Microsoft Word Ed Horwitz Post Dissertation Fina docx

Retirement Product Ownership 
 
Research has supported the assumption that the decision to own a financial product, in 
and of itself, constitutes a best practice behavior (Hilgert, Hogarth, & Beverly, 2003). Research 
on financial literacy and retirement well-being explored the associations among several variables 
including retirement planning and accumulation of wealth (Lusardi & Mitchell, 2011). The 
definition of wealth included the sum of certificates of deposit, savings accounts, bonds, stocks, 
IRAs, and Keoghs. Financial literacy has been linked to retirement savings using individual and 
employer retirement plans. Individual retirement accounts are used as primary retirement savings 
vehicles by individuals and small business owners who must provide their own plans. 

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Additionally, individual plans are also used by those who seek to supplement retirement savings 
outside of traditional employer plans and have tax advantages associated with qualified plans. 
While tax deductible contributions may not be available to those households eligible for 
employer plans or at higher levels of income, tax-deferred growth and distribution rules still 
represent important retirement planning benefits for those who have the financial knowledge to 
utilize individual plans. Therefore, the ownership of individual retirement plans has been 
associated with higher financial literacy, greater wealth accumulation for retirement, and 
behaviors commensurate with retirement preparedness best practice behaviors (Lusardi & 
Mitchell, 2011).