Ignorance Is Not Bliss: The Importance Of Financial Education

Robert L. Clark, North Carolina State University
Madeleine d'Ambrosio, TIAA-CREF Institute

December 2003 | Issue # 78

In this article, the authors assess the impact of participation in financial education seminars offered by TIAA-CREF on retirement goals and retirement saving behaviors. Specifically, the authors examine whether participants in these seminars revised their expected retirement age and/or their desired level of retirement income after attending a seminar. Through the use of an additional survey that participants completed several months after attending the seminar, the authors also determined whether individuals actually made changes in their retirement saving behaviors.