Pensions are an important income source for many in old age. Unfortunately, many workers lack pension coverage. Sixty-two percent of whites have pension coverage through their own or a spouse's employment, compared with 54 percent of African Americans and 47 percent of Hispanics. Saving Incentives Saving incentives appear to work if their efficiency is measured solely by the amount of money in tax-favored accounts. But the sizable deposits in employer-sponsored pension plans or IRAs alone do not necessarily prove that saving incentives work.
Savings are fungible and can thus be transferred from one account to another.
Researchers, however, disagree on the importance of such offsets. While sociodemographic factors are clearly important in understanding the saving behavior of HRS respondents, life events also have an impact on the ability to save. Family, job, and health-related events can all play a role in eroding household savings. How Americans Save literature review, examination of the HRS shows that as income increases, the likelihood of having retirement savings increases, as does the amount of those savings. Views about the importance of leaving an inheritance are not, however, related to household savings patterns.