for insightful suggestions. We gratefully acknowledge financial support for our survey provided by the TIAA-CREF Institute. All opinions expressed herein are those of the authors alone, and not necessarily those of TIAA-CREF or any of its employees. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The "annuity puzzle," conveying the apparently low interest of retirees in longevity insurance, is central to household finance. Two possible explanations are "public care aversion" (PCA), retiree aversion to simultaneously running out of wealth and being in need of long-term care, and an intentional bequest motive. To disentangle the relative importance of PCA and bequest motive, we estimate a structural model of the retirement phase using a novel survey instrument that includes hypothetical questions. We identify PCA as very significant and find bequest motives that spread deep into the middle class. Our results highlight potential interest in annuities that make allowance for long-term care expenses.
We develop a survey instrument to measure self-control problems in a sample of highly educated adults. This measure relates in the manner that theory predicts to liquid wealth accumulation and personality measures. Yet while self-control problems are typically seen as resulting in overconsumption and low wealth, we identify a significant group who underconsume and thereby accumulate high levels of wealth. In addition, self-control problems are smaller in scale for older than for younger respondents. Those who put money aside in retirement accounts may be delaying access to a point at which self-control problems are no longer important. (JEL D12, D14)
for insightful suggestions. We gratefully acknowledge financial support for our survey provided by the TIAA-CREF Institute. All opinions expressed herein are those of the authors alone, and not necessarily those of TIAA-CREF or any of its employees. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
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