This article examines the extent to which cognitive abilities relate to differences in trajectories for key economic outcomes as individuals move towards and through their retirement. We look at whether differences in baseline numeracy (measured in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing in 2002) and broader cognitive ability predict the subsequent trajectories of outcomes such as wealth, retirement income and key dimensions of retirement expectations. Those with lower numeracy are shown to have different wealth trajectories both pre and post-retirement than their more numerate counterparts, but the distributions of retirement expectations and net replacement rates are similar across numeracy groups.
Authors
CPP Co-Director
James is Senior Research Fellow and Professor of Economics at Manchester, working on broad issues in the economics of retirement, savings and health.
Head of Data Services
Zoe is Head of Data Services. She joined the IFS in 1998 as a researcher and moved into Data Services in 2011.
Research Associate Yale University
Cormac is a Research Associate of the IFS, an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Yale University and Research Fellow at the NBER.
Suggested citation
J, Banks and C, O'Dea and Z, Oldfield. (2010). 'Cognitive function, numeracy and retirement saving trajectories' (2010)
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