95% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Behav. Econ.
Sec. Behavioral Microfoundations
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frbhe.2025.1379577
Subjective Financial Scarcity Today = Objective Financial Scarcity in the Future? The Impact of Subjective Financial Scarcity on Saving for Retirement
Provisionally accepted- 1 University of Tartu, Tartu, Tartu County, Estonia
- 2 Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
- 3 Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, Netherlands
- 4 Network for Studies on Pensions, Aging and Retirement, Tilburg, Netherlands
Subjective financial scarcity poses a significant concern that negatively impacts individuals' wellbeing. With attention tunneling to present financial worries, individuals might neglect their future financial situation, even if they objectively have enough funds to save. Such behavior can contribute to a deficient financial situation in retirement. To assess the impact of subjective financial scarcity on the intention to save for retirement, we conduct an online vignette survey experiment (n = 134). Using the two-limit tobit model, we find that subjective financial scarcity leads to lower retirement savings rate. We contribute to the literature by testing theoretical predictions of scarcity theory, providing experimental evidence for the myopic financial behavior orientation of retirement saving rates. We offer practical implications for policymakers, suggesting that interventions that promote saving for retirement should be designed with subjective financial scarcity and stress reduction messages in mind.
Keywords: financial scarcity, Retirement, Saving behavior, experiment, Pension
Received: 31 Jan 2024; Accepted: 31 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Pulk and Post. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Kristjan Pulk, University of Tartu, Tartu, 50090, Tartu County, Estonia
Thomas Post, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.