IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/insuma/v64y2015icp385-395.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of objective formulation on retirement decision making

Author

Listed:
  • Butt, Adam
  • Khemka, Gaurav

Abstract

For a retiree who must maintain both investment and longevity risks, we consider the impact on decision making of focusing on an objective relating to the terminal wealth at retirement, instead of a more correct objective relating to a retirement income. Both a shortfall and a utility objective are considered; we argue that shortfall objectives may be inappropriate due to distortion in results with non-monotonically correlated economic factors. The modelling undertaken uses a dynamic programming approach in conjunction with Monte-Carlo simulations of future experience of an individual to make optimal choices. We find that the type of objective targetted can have a significant impact on the optimal choices made, with optimal equity allocations being up to 30% higher and contribution amounts also being significantly higher under a retirement income objective as compared to a terminal wealth objective. The result of these differences can have a significant impact on retirement outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Butt, Adam & Khemka, Gaurav, 2015. "The effect of objective formulation on retirement decision making," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 385-395.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:insuma:v:64:y:2015:i:c:p:385-395
    DOI: 10.1016/j.insmatheco.2015.07.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167668715001158
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.insmatheco.2015.07.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pablo Antolin & Stéphanie Payet & Juan Yermo, 2010. "Assessing Default Investment Strategies in Defined Contribution Pension Plans," OECD Journal: Financial Market Trends, OECD Publishing, vol. 2010(1), pages 87-115.
    2. Horneff, Vanya & Maurer, Raimond & Mitchell, Olivia S. & Rogalla, Ralph, 2015. "Optimal life cycle portfolio choice with variable annuities offering liquidity and investment downside protection," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 91-107.
    3. Blake, David & Wright, Douglas & Zhang, Yumeng, 2014. "Age-dependent investing: Optimal funding and investment strategies in defined contribution pension plans when members are rational life cycle financial planners," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 105-124.
    4. Bodie, Zvi & Merton, Robert C. & Samuelson, William F., 1992. "Labor supply flexibility and portfolio choice in a life cycle model," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 16(3-4), pages 427-449.
    5. Kremer, Alexander & Liese, Friedrich & Homölle, Susanne & Clausen, Johann, 2014. "Optimal consumption and portfolio choice of retirees with longevity risk," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(3), pages 227-249, July.
    6. Gerrard, Russell & Haberman, Steven & Vigna, Elena, 2004. "Optimal investment choices post-retirement in a defined contribution pension scheme," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 321-342, October.
    7. Steven Haberman & Elena Vigna, 2002. "Optimal investment strategies and risk measures in defined contribution pension schemes," ICER Working Papers - Applied Mathematics Series 09-2002, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    8. Berstein, Solange & Fuentes, Olga & Villatoro, Félix, 2013. "Default investment strategies in a defined contribution pension system: a pension risk model application for the chilean case," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(4), pages 379-414, October.
    9. Michael Dempster & Elena Medova, 2011. "Planning for Retirement: Asset Liability Management for Individuals," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Gautam Mitra & Katharina Schwaiger (ed.), Asset and Liability Management Handbook, chapter 16, pages 409-432, Palgrave Macmillan.
    10. Haberman, Steven & Vigna, Elena, 2002. "Optimal investment strategies and risk measures in defined contribution pension schemes," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 35-69, August.
    11. Richard W. Kopcke & Anthony Webb & Joshua Hurwitz, 2013. "Rethinking Optimal Wealth Accumulation and Decumulation Strategies in the Wake of the Financial Crisis," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2013-1, Center for Retirement Research.
    12. Yao, Haixiang & Lai, Yongzeng & Ma, Qinghua & Jian, Minjie, 2014. "Asset allocation for a DC pension fund with stochastic income and mortality risk: A multi-period mean–variance framework," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 84-92.
    13. Paul A. Samuelson, 2011. "Lifetime Portfolio Selection by Dynamic Stochastic Programming," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & Edward O Thorp & William T Ziemba (ed.), THE KELLY CAPITAL GROWTH INVESTMENT CRITERION THEORY and PRACTICE, chapter 31, pages 465-472, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    14. Pirvu, Traian A. & Zhang, Huayue, 2012. "Optimal investment, consumption and life insurance under mean-reverting returns: The complete market solution," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 303-309.
    15. Blake, David & Wright, Douglas & Zhang, Yumeng, 2013. "Target-driven investing: Optimal investment strategies in defined contribution pension plans under loss aversion," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 195-209.
    16. Vigna, Elena & Haberman, Steven, 2001. "Optimal investment strategy for defined contribution pension schemes," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 233-262, April.
    17. Butt, Adam & Deng, Ziyong, 2012. "Investment strategies in retirement: in the presence of a means-tested government pension," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(2), pages 151-181, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Minney, Aaron & Zhu, Zili & Guo, Ying & Li, Jiaming & Toscas, Peter & Koo, Bonsoo & Pantelous, Athanasios A., 2022. "Using the pension multiple to measure retirement outcomes," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    2. Gaurav Khemka & Adam Butt, 2017. "Non-Parametric Integral Estimation Using Data Clustering in Stochastic dynamic Programming: An Introduction Using Lifetime Financial Modelling," Risks, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Huang, Huaxiong & Milevsky, Moshe A., 2016. "Longevity risk and retirement income tax efficiency: A location spending rate puzzle," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 50-62.
    4. Gaurav Khemka & Yifu Tang & Geoffrey J. Warren, 2021. "The ‘right’ level for the superannuation guarantee: identifying the key considerations," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(3), pages 4435-4474, September.
    5. Geoffrey J Warren, 2022. "Design of comprehensive income products for retirement using utility functions," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 47(1), pages 105-134, February.
    6. Koo, Bonsoo & Pantelous, Athanasios A. & Wang, Yunxiao, 2022. "Novel utility-based life cycle models to optimise income in retirement," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 299(1), pages 346-361.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gaurav Khemka & Adam Butt, 2017. "Non-Parametric Integral Estimation Using Data Clustering in Stochastic dynamic Programming: An Introduction Using Lifetime Financial Modelling," Risks, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-17, October.
    2. Zhiping Chen & Liyuan Wang & Ping Chen & Haixiang Yao, 2019. "Continuous-Time Mean–Variance Optimization For Defined Contribution Pension Funds With Regime-Switching," International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Finance (IJTAF), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(06), pages 1-33, September.
    3. Yao, Haixiang & Yang, Zhou & Chen, Ping, 2013. "Markowitz’s mean–variance defined contribution pension fund management under inflation: A continuous-time model," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 851-863.
    4. Yao, Haixiang & Lai, Yongzeng & Ma, Qinghua & Jian, Minjie, 2014. "Asset allocation for a DC pension fund with stochastic income and mortality risk: A multi-period mean–variance framework," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 84-92.
    5. Guan, Guohui & Liang, Zongxia, 2015. "Mean–variance efficiency of DC pension plan under stochastic interest rate and mean-reverting returns," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 99-109.
    6. Henrique Ferreira Morici & Elena Vigna, 2023. "Optimal additional voluntary contribution in DC pension schemes to manage inadequacy risk," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 699 JEL Classification: C, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    7. Guan, Guohui & Liang, Zongxia, 2016. "Optimal management of DC pension plan under loss aversion and Value-at-Risk constraints," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 224-237.
    8. Blake, David & Wright, Douglas & Zhang, Yumeng, 2013. "Target-driven investing: Optimal investment strategies in defined contribution pension plans under loss aversion," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 195-209.
    9. Guan, Guohui & Liang, Zongxia, 2016. "A stochastic Nash equilibrium portfolio game between two DC pension funds," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 237-244.
    10. He, Lin & Liang, Zongxia, 2013. "Optimal dynamic asset allocation strategy for ELA scheme of DC pension plan during the distribution phase," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 404-410.
    11. Zhang, Ling & Zhang, Hao & Yao, Haixiang, 2018. "Optimal investment management for a defined contribution pension fund under imperfect information," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 210-224.
    12. Yao, Haixiang & Chen, Ping & Li, Xun, 2016. "Multi-period defined contribution pension funds investment management with regime-switching and mortality risk," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 103-113.
    13. Han, Nan-wei & Hung, Mao-wei, 2012. "Optimal asset allocation for DC pension plans under inflation," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 172-181.
    14. Wang, Suxin & Lu, Yi, 2019. "Optimal investment strategies and risk-sharing arrangements for a hybrid pension plan," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 46-62.
    15. Francesco Menoncin & Elena Vigna, 2013. "Mean-variance target-based optimisation in DC plan with stochastic interest rate," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 337, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    16. Alessandra Milazzo & Elena Vigna, 2018. "The Italian Pension Gap: a Stochastic Optimal Control Approach," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 553, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    17. Zeng, Yan & Li, Danping & Chen, Zheng & Yang, Zhou, 2018. "Ambiguity aversion and optimal derivative-based pension investment with stochastic income and volatility," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 70-103.
    18. Cong, F. & Oosterlee, C.W., 2016. "Multi-period mean–variance portfolio optimization based on Monte-Carlo simulation," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 23-38.
    19. Alessandro Milazzo & Elena Vigna, 2018. "The Italian Pension Gap: A Stochastic Optimal Control Approach," Risks, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-20, April.
    20. Bilel Jarraya & Abdelfettah Bouri, 2013. "A Theoretical Assessment on Optimal Asset Allocations in Insurance Industry," International Journal of Finance & Banking Studies, Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 2(4), pages 30-44, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bootstrap method; Simulation; Dynamic programming; Optimisation; Retirement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C15 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Statistical Simulation Methods: General
    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:insuma:v:64:y:2015:i:c:p:385-395. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505554 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.