What Happens When You Show Them the Money?:Lump Sum Distributions, Retirement Income Security, and Public Policy

We examine pre-retirement lump sum distributions from pension plans, which have grown significantly in recent years. Most LSD recipients do not rollover the funds into qualified accounts, but the likelihood of rollover rises for larger distributions. We find that tax penalties imposed in 1986 on non-rollovers by people younger than 55 raised the likelihood of rollovers among..