The Role of Self‐Regulation, Future Orientation, and Financial Knowledge in Long‐Term Financial Decisions

This research examines potential explanations of why consumers have difficulty making personal financial decisions that will be most beneficial in the long run. Within the decision context of retirement savings, results from an experiment suggest that self‐regulatory state, future orientation, and financial knowledge can influence consumer evaluations and intentions related to retirement investments (i.e., a 401(k) plan). Findings suggest that consumers who express higher levels of future orientation are more likely to participate in a retirement plan, an effect moderated by self‐regulatory state. Results also suggest that financial knowledge and orientation toward the future can interact to influence the likelihood of 401(k) plan participation. Among consumers with a basic level of financial knowledge, future‐oriented consumers expressed a greater likelihood to participate in a retirement plan than less future–oriented consumers. However, in the absence of knowledge, consumers’ orientation toward the future did not influence the likelihood of 401(k) plan participation.