Although annuities provide longevity insurance that should be attractive to households facing an uncertain lifespan, rates of voluntary annuitization remain extremely low. We evaluate the Advanced Life Deferred Annuity, an annuity purchased at retirement, providing an income commencing in...

This article investigates the distributional consequences of mandatory annuitization. Using Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data and accounting for longevity risk pooling within marriage and preannuitized wealth, we find substantial redistribution away from disadvantaged groups in expected...

Although annuities provide longevity insurance that should, in theory, be attractive to risk-averse households facing an uncertain lifespan, rates of voluntary annuitization remain extremely low. We evaluate a proposed annuity product, the Advanced Life Deferred Annuity, an annuity purchased at...

What is the impact of the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution plans on the pension wealth of households approaching retirement? Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, this brief documents this shift and compares employer-sponsored pension wealth across households with...

Most married men claim Social Security benefits at age 62 or 63, well short of both Social Security’s Full Retirement Age and the age that maximizes the household’s expected present value of benefits (EPVB). This results in a loss of less than 4 percent in household EPBV. But essentially the...

The ability to retire at an age and in a manner of one’s choosing depends on one’s ability to retain or find employment at older ages, which depends in turn on local labor market conditions. We investigate how local labor markets affect retirement transitions. We match households from the...

The release of the Federal Reserve’s 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is a great opportunity to reassess Americans’ retirement preparedness as mea­sured by the National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI). The NRRI shows the share of working-age house­holds who are “at risk” of being...

This paper summarizes what is known about leakages from existing studies and relates these results to detailed data on leakages in 2013 provided by Vanguard’s How America Saves. It then uses two data sets – the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) and the Survey of Income and Program...

The brief’s key findings are: *Federal Reserve data show that retirement preparedness has been declining over time, but studies on the level of preparedness offer conflicting assessments. *The National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI) finds half of households are “at risk,” while studies of...

The brief’s key findings are: *As 401(k)s and IRAs have become the dominant source of retirement saving, the potential for pre-retirement withdrawals – “leakages” – has grown. *Leakages occur via three channels: 1) in-service withdrawals for hardships or after age 59½; 2) cashouts...