IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jfamec/v34y2013i4p447-459.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Optimal Annuity Purchase Decisions Under Uncertain Lifetime

Author

Listed:
  • Aparna Gupta
  • Zhisheng Li

Abstract

This paper developed a wealth allocation framework for longevity risk protection under stochastic lifetime. By combining the dynamics of wealth evolution and health evolution in stochastic multi-period discrete-time models, an optimization problem was formulated with the objective of maximizing lifetime utility of consumption and bequest. We implemented the framework in different scenarios and provided results to illustrate the practical implications of the framework. Computational results suggested that it is optimal for most people to purchase an annuity at some point in their lives. However, an individual’s health status, risk aversion, retirement objective, and the insurance charge associated with annuities could significantly influence the choice of optimal annuitization time, consumption plans, and trade off between lifetime versus fixed-term annuity. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Aparna Gupta & Zhisheng Li, 2013. "Optimal Annuity Purchase Decisions Under Uncertain Lifetime," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 447-459, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:34:y:2013:i:4:p:447-459
    DOI: 10.1007/s10834-012-9340-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10834-012-9340-1
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10834-012-9340-1?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. B. Douglas Bernheim, 2000. "How Much Should Americans Be Saving for Retirement?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(2), pages 288-292, May.
    2. Nancy Jianakoplos & Alexandra Bernasek, 2008. "Family Financial Risk Taking When the Wife Earns More," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 289-306, June.
    3. Brown, Jeffrey R., 2001. "Private pensions, mortality risk, and the decision to annuitize," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 29-62, October.
    4. Gupta, Aparna & Li, Zhisheng, 2007. "Integrating optimal annuity planning with consumption-investment selections in retirement planning," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 96-110, July.
    5. David Zimmer, 2009. "Insurance Arrangements Among Married Couples: Analysis of Benefit Substitution and Compensating Differentials," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 428-439, December.
    6. Gong, Guan & Webb, Anthony, 2010. "Evaluating the Advanced Life Deferred Annuity -- An annuity people might actually buy," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 210-221, February.
    7. Luis M. Viceira, 2001. "Optimal Portfolio Choice for Long‐Horizon Investors with Nontradable Labor Income," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(2), pages 433-470, April.
    8. Gregory Ponthiere, 2011. "Mortality, Family and Lifestyles," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 175-190, June.
    9. Sachi Purcal & John Piggott, 2008. "Explaining Low Annuity Demand: An Optimal Portfolio Application to Japan," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 75(2), pages 493-516, June.
    10. Gupta, Aparna & Li, Zhisheng, 2011. "Calibration of a stochastic health evolution model using NHIS data," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 390(20), pages 3524-3540.
    11. Tansel Yilmazer & Angela Lyons, 2010. "Marriage and the Allocation of Assets in Women’s Defined Contribution Plans," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 121-137, June.
    12. Picone, Gabriel & Uribe, Martin & Mark Wilson, R., 1998. "The effect of uncertainty on the demand for medical care, health capital and wealth," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 171-185, April.
    13. Ralph S. J. Koijen & Theo E. Nijman & Bas J. M. Werker, 2011. "Optimal Annuity Risk Management," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 15(4), pages 799-833.
    14. Moshe A. Milevsky & Kristen S. Moore & Virginia R. Young, 2006. "Asset Allocation And Annuity‐Purchase Strategies To Minimize The Probability Of Financial Ruin," Mathematical Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(4), pages 647-671, October.
    15. Thomas Davidoff & Jeffrey R. Brown & Peter A. Diamond, 2005. "Annuities and Individual Welfare," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(5), pages 1573-1590, December.
    16. Grossman, Michael, 1972. "On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(2), pages 223-255, March-Apr.
    17. Menahem E. Yaari, 1965. "Uncertain Lifetime, Life Insurance, and the Theory of the Consumer," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 32(2), pages 137-150.
    18. Milevsky, Moshe A. & Young, Virginia R., 2007. "Annuitization and asset allocation," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 31(9), pages 3138-3177, September.
    19. Kuo-Liang Chang & George Langelett & Andrew Waugh, 2011. "Health, Health Insurance, and Decision to Exit from Farming," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 356-372, June.
    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. Deanna L. Sharpe, 2021. "Reinventing Retirement," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 11-19, July.
    2. Lambregts, Timo R. & Schut, Frederik T., 2020. "Displaced, disliked and misunderstood: A systematic review of the reasons for low uptake of long-term care insurance and life annuities," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    3. Che-cheong Poon & Tai-Yuen Hon, 2015. "Household Savings in Hong Kong: A Statistical Analysis," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 353-368, September.

    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. Maria Alexandrova & Nadine Gatzert, 2019. "What Do We Know About Annuitization Decisions?," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 22(1), pages 57-100, March.
    2. Horneff, Wolfram J. & Maurer, Raimond H. & Stamos, Michael Z., 2008. "Life-cycle asset allocation with annuity markets," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 32(11), pages 3590-3612, November.
    3. Horneff, Wolfram J. & Maurer, Raimond H. & Mitchell, Olivia S. & Stamos, Michael Z., 2009. "Asset allocation and location over the life cycle with investment-linked survival-contingent payouts," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1688-1699, September.
    4. Sanders, Lisanne & De Waegenaere, Anja & Nijman, Theo E., 2013. "When can insurers offer products that dominate delayed old-age pension benefit claiming?," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 134-149.
    5. Sanders, E.A.T. & De Waegenaere, A.M.B. & Nijman, T.E., 2010. "When Can Insurers Offer Products That Dominate Delayed Old-Age Pension Benefit Claiming?," Other publications TiSEM ea3f9bbb-92ce-4dfe-a1fe-e, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    6. 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.
    7. Roman N. Schulze & Thomas Post, 2010. "Individual Annuity Demand Under Aggregate Mortality Risk," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 77(2), pages 423-449, June.
    8. Jang, Bong-Gyu & Koo, Hyeng Keun & Park, Seyoung, 2019. "Optimal consumption and investment with insurer default risk," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 44-56.
    9. Wolfram J. Horneff & Raimond H. Maurer & Olivia S. Mitchel & Michael Z. Stamos, 2008. "Asset Allocation and Location over the Life Cycle with Survival-Contingent Payouts," Working Papers wp177, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    10. Yogo, Motohiro, 2016. "Portfolio choice in retirement: Health risk and the demand for annuities, housing, and risky assets," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 17-34.
    11. Lambregts, Timo R. & Schut, Frederik T., 2020. "Displaced, disliked and misunderstood: A systematic review of the reasons for low uptake of long-term care insurance and life annuities," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    12. Wang, Ting & Young, Virginia R., 2012. "Optimal commutable annuities to minimize the probability of lifetime ruin," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 200-216.
    13. Milevsky, Moshe A. & Salisbury, Thomas S., 2022. "Refundable income annuities: Feasibility of money-back guarantees," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 175-193.
    14. Kaschützke, B. & Maurer, R., 2016. "Investing and Portfolio Allocation for Retirement," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 567-608, Elsevier.
    15. Peijnenburg, Kim & Nijman, Theo & Werker, Bas J.M., 2016. "The annuity puzzle remains a puzzle," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 18-35.
    16. Horneff, Wolfram J. & Maurer, Raimond H. & Mitchell, Olivia S. & Stamos, Michael Z., 2010. "Variable payout annuities and dynamic portfolio choice in retirement," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 163-183, April.
    17. Horneff, Vanya & Maurer, Raimond & Mitchell, Olivia S., 2020. "Putting the pension back in 401(k) retirement plans: Optimal versus default deferred longevity income annuities," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    18. Horneff, Wolfram & Maurer, Raimond & Rogalla, Ralph, 2010. "Dynamic portfolio choice with deferred annuities," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(11), pages 2652-2664, November.
    19. Post, Thomas, 2009. "Individual welfare gains from deferred life-annuities under stochastic Lee-Carter mortality," SFB 649 Discussion Papers 2009-022, Humboldt University Berlin, Collaborative Research Center 649: Economic Risk.
    20. Wolfram J. Horneff & Raimond H. Maurer, 2008. "Deferred Annuities and Strategic Asset Allocation," Working Papers wp178, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.

    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:kap:jfamec:v:34:y:2013:i:4:p:447-459. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.