Evaluation of the Reliability and Validity of the Retirement Knowledge Scale (RKS).

The Retirement Knowledge Scale (RKS) consists of 10 questions that assess three aspects of financial planning for retirement: reflection about retirement plans, engagement with information on retirement preparedness, and evaluation of retirement preparedness. The RKS was administered to 1350 adults 50 and older in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) as an experimental module for the 2020 wave along with the "Big Three" questions of financial literacy that assess knowledge about inflation, interest rate, and risk. Results of the study provide support for the reliability of the RKS scales in the full sample and separately for non-retired and retired adults.

Using Digital Technology to Build COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence: A Qualitative Study among Latinx Parents of Children Aged 5-11 in Under-Resourced Communities across Los Angeles County.

: Latinx school-aged children are more than twice as likely to be infected with and die from COVID-19 as non-Latinx White children in Los Angeles. Although COVID-19 vaccination has the potential to mitigate health disparities exacerbated by the pandemic, vaccination uptake among Latinx children remains limited. MiVacunaLA (MVLA) is a mobile-phone-delivered digital intervention that improved vaccination rates in 12- to 17-year-old Latinx children and parental intention to vaccinate 2- to 11-year-old children.

Delivering information about retirement saving among Hispanic women: two Facebook experiments.

We conducted two Facebook experiments (the first one during July 21-25, 2016, and the second during April 22-25, 2018) to determine what type of message related to injunctive norms is more effective in getting Hispanic women interested in learning about financial planning for retirement. We also explore how social media tools could be used in future interventions to promote retirement saving among Hispanic women. In both experiments, we found that a message centered on peer influence may be more successful than a message centered on familism in getting Hispanic women interested in learning more about financial planning for retirement.

A Community-Based Randomized Controlled Trial of an Educational Intervention to Promote Retirement Saving Among Hispanics.

We developed and conducted a community based randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of an intervention to promote retirement saving among low and moderate income, predominantly Spanish speaking Hispanics, who do not have access to an employer sponsored retirement account. Our educational intervention provided participants with key information related to financial planning for retirement in Spanish and made use of "behavioral nudges" to encourage participants to open a federal sponsored retirement saving account, my Retirement Account (myRA). Among 142 participants (70 and 72 in control and treatment groups, respectively), we found a significant difference-in-difference (DD) on the proportion of those who opened a myRA.

Understanding the Racial/Ethnic Gap in Bank Account Ownership among Older Adults.

The observed racial/ethnic gap in bank account ownership among older adults is substantial. We investigate socioeconomic, cognitive, and cultural barriers underling it. As additional potential barriers are accounted for, the residual gaps in financial inclusion with respect to Whites are reduced by 19% for blacks and 46% for Hispanics.

Retirement Planning Among Hispanics: In God's Hands?

We conducted a qualitative study on retirement preparedness among middle-aged and older low-income Hispanics in Los Angeles. Data were derived from four focus groups conducted in the greater Los Angeles area. Findings demonstrate how behavioral and cultural factors-family experiences, religiosity, and denial of retirement-explain the lack of savings and preparedness for retirement.

Ownership of a bank account and health of older Hispanics.

We study health effects of financial inclusion, particularly ownership of a checking account of older minorities, with focus on Hispanics. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study from 2000 to 2012, we find that, for Hispanics, being banked has a positive effect on mental health but is not associated with effects on physical health. Mental health benefits are likely to be larger for those who face greater hurdles to access formal financial institutions.

A Qualitative Analysis of the Use of Financial Services and Saving Behavior Among Older African Americans and Latinos in the Los Angeles Area.

For this study, we conducted seven focus groups in the Los Angeles area with a total of 70 participants (42 Latinos and 28 African Americans) recruited from three senior centers and a church. There was a wide variety of responses in relation to the usage of financial services among participants. We found that although some participants seem to participate more in the formal financial sector and show a higher level of sophistication when managing their finances, other participants' use of formal financial institutions is minimal.