U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Report

Behavioral Patterns and Pitfalls of U.S. Investors (2010)

Submitted by Admin on
Drawing on a comprehensive review of academic journal articles, the report reviews patterns of investor behavior that may be suboptimal and factors that may lead to such patterns. role of behavioral finance from the perspective of prospect theory, overconfidence and human sentiment, as well as explanations for a reluctance to invest including financial literacy and trust. It also discusses retirement saving inadequacy and reviews a series of common investment mistakes as well as behavioral patterns related to annuity and growth investing.

Federal Financial and Economic Literacy Education Programs, 2009

Submitted by Admin on
Financial literacy — the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage financial resources effectively for a lifetime of financial well-being — is becoming more and more important as individuals and families become increasingly responsible for their own long-term financial well-being. Financial and economic literacy education programs have been shown to increase financial literacy and capability. Many federal agencies and departments have long-standing financial education programs, and, in recent years, steps have been taken to increase coordination of such efforts.

Structure of Household Debt of Small Business Owners in the United States

Submitted by Admin on
This descriptive analysis examines the importance of personal financing sources, especially mortgages secured by residential property, to small businesses from 1998 through 2007. About 80 percent of the total debt owned by small business-owning house-holds is held in mortgages and installment loans. The likelihood of holding a residential mortgage increased from 64.7 percent in 1998 to over 73 percent in 2007, and the share of total debt held in residential mortgages increased from 67.3 percent in 1998 to 70.6 percent in 2007 for small business-owning households.

Research on Financial Behaviors and Use of Small-Dollar Loans and Financial Services

Submitted by Admin on
This literature review provides an overview of research on the following small-dollar credit products: auto title loans, pawnshops, payday lending, refund anticipation loans (RALs) and checks (RACs), and rent-to-own (RTO). This review includes recently published research. It is not intended as an exhaustive treatment of these topics, but is designed to highlight key findings relevant for additional research.

Characteristics of Users of Refund Anticipation Loans and Refund Anticipation Checks

Submitted by Admin on
This report addresses two sets of research questions related to Refund anticipation loans (RALs) and refund atnticipation checks (RACs) First, the authors ask who obtains them and who does not and what demographic, economic, and geographic factors are associated with the use of these products. The authors provide descriptive breakdowns of many individual and geographical characteristics that are linked with use of RALs/RACs, and then conduct quantitative analysis of IRS-provided data on millions of tax filers who received a refund in tax year 2008.

Minnesota’s Earned Income Credit Program: Utilization by Current and Former Welfare Households and the Impact of Policy Parameters

Submitted by Admin on
Abstract: This report examines the utilization of a state earned income credit by current and former welfare recipients using two measures: receipt among all current and former welfare recipients and among only those eligible for the credit. Both measures may be useful, depending upon which groups policymakers hope to target.

Retirement Savings: Automatic Enrollment Shows Promise for Some Workers, but Proposals to Broaden Retirement Savings for Other Workers Could Face Challenges

Submitted by Admin on
To foster greater participation among workers who have access to employer-sponsored retirement plans, Congress included provisions that facilitate plan sponsors’ adoption of automatic enrollment policies in the Pension Protection Act of 2006. To foster greater retirement savings among workers who do not have access to an employer-sponsored plan, proposals have been made at the federal level for an “automatic IRA” and at the state level for state-based programs.

Retirement Savings: Better Information and Sponsor Guidance Could Improve Oversight and Reduce Fees for Participants

Submitted by Admin on
American workers increasingly rely on defined contribution (DC) plans like 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRA) for retirement income. In this report, GAO examined: (1) the types of fees charged to participants and investments of various DC plans; (2) how DC plan sponsor actions affect participant fees; (3) how fee disclosure requirements vary; and (4) the effectiveness of DC plan oversight. GAO reviewed laws and regulations and consulted with experts, federal officials, service providers, and six plan sponsors.