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Selection Effects in the United Kingdom Individual Annuities Market

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Author Info
Amy Finkelstein (MIT)
James Poterba (MIT and NBER)

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Abstract

This paper explores adverse selection in the voluntary and compulsory individual annuity markets in the United Kingdom. Two empirical regularities support standard models of adverse selection. First, annuitants are longer-lived than non-annuitants. These mortality differences are more pronounced in the voluntary than in the compulsory annuity market. We estimate that the amount of adverse selection in the compulsory market is about one half of that in the voluntary market. Second, the pricing of different types of annuity products within each annuity market is consistent with individuals selecting products based, in part, on private information about their mortality prospects. Copyright Royal Economic Society 2002

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Article provided by Royal Economic Society in its journal The Economic Journal.

Volume (Year): 112 (2002)
Issue (Month): 476 (January)
Pages: 28-50
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Handle: RePEc:ecj:econjl:v:112:y:2002:i:476:p:28-50

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Pierre-Andre Chiappori & Bernard Salanie, 2001. "Testing for Asymmetric Information in Insurance Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(1), pages 56-78, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Friedman, Benjamin M & Warshawsky, Mark J, 1990. "The Cost of Annuities: Implications for Saving Behavior and Bequests," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 105(1), pages 135-54, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Jeffrey R. Brown & James M. Poterba, 1999. "Joint Life Annuities and Annuity Demand by Married Couples," NBER Working Papers 7199, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. O. Attanasio & H. W. Hoynes, . "Differential mortality and wealth accumulation," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1079-96, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Richard Disney & Paul Johnson & Gary Stears, 1998. "Asset wealth and asset decumulation among households in the Retirement Survey," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 19(2), pages 153-174, May. [Downloadable!]
  6. David M. Cutler & Sarah J. Reber, 1998. "Paying For Health Insurance: The Trade-Off Between Competition And Adverse Selection," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(2), pages 433-466, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Abel, Andrew B, 1986. "Capital Accumulation and Uncertain Lifetimes with Adverse Selection," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(5), pages 1079-97, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Michael D. Hurd & Kathleen McGarry, 1997. "The Predictive Validity of Subjective Probabilities of Survival," NBER Working Papers 6193, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. John Cawley & Tomas Philipson, 1999. "An Empirical Examination of Information Barriers to Trade in Insurance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(4), pages 827-846, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Benjamin M. Friedman & Mark Warshawsky, 1988. "Annuity Prices and Saving Behavior in the United States," NBER Chapters, in: Pensions in the U.S. Economy, pages 53-84 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Olivia S. Mitchell & James M. Poterba & Mark J. Warshawsky, . "New Evidence on the Money's Worth of Individual Annuities," Pension Research Council Working Papers 97-9, Wharton School Pension Research Council, University of Pennsylvania.
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  13. James M. Poterba & Mark J. Warshawsky, 1999. "The Costs of Annuitizing Retirement Payouts from Individual Accounts," NBER Working Papers 6918, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Benjamin M. Friedman & Mark Warshawsky, 1988. "Annuity Prices and Saving Behavior in the United States," NBER Working Papers 1683, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Amy Finkelstein & James Poterba, 2000. "Adverse Selection in Insurance Markets: Policyholder Evidence from the U.K. Annuity Market," NBER Working Papers 8045, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  16. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 1985. "Expectations, Life Expectancy, and Economic Behavior," NBER Working Papers 0835, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  17. Brugiavini, Agar, 1993. "Uncertainty resolution and the timing of annuity purchases," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 31-62, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Casey B. Mulligan & Xavier Sala-i-Martin, 2004. "Political and Economic Forces Sustaining Social Security," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, Berkeley Electronic Press, vol. 0(1). [Downloadable!]
  2. Eytan Sheshinski, 2006. "Differentiated Annuities in a Pooling Equilibrium," Levine's Bibliography 321307000000000474, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Jeffrey R. Brown & Amy Finkelstein, 2004. "Supply or Demand: Why is the Market for Long-Term Care Insurance So Small?," NBER Working Papers 10782, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Johann K. Brunner & Susanne Pech, 2005. "Optimum Taxation of Life Annuities," Economics working papers 2005-06, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Edmund Cannon & Ian Tonks, 2002. "Annuity Prices, Money's Worth and Replacement Ratios: UK experience 1972 - 2002," The Centre for Market and Public Organisation 02/051, Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK. [Downloadable!]
  6. Jeffrey R. Brown, 2007. "Rational and Behavioral Perspectives on the Role of Annuities in Retirement Planning," NBER Working Papers 13537, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Susanne Pech, 2002. "Tax incentives for private life annuities and the social security reform: Effects on consumption and on adverse selection," Economics working papers 2002-09, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Grönqvist, Erik, 2004. "Does Adverse Selection Matter? Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 575, Stockholm School of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  9. Irina Grafova, 2007. "Your Money or Your Life: Managing Health, Managing Money," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 285-303, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Arnaud Van Bellingen, 2007. "Quelles perspectives de développement pour le marché des annuités?," CREPP Working Papers 0701, Centre de Recherche en Economie Publique et de la Population (CREPP) (Research Center on Public and Population Economics) HEC-Management School, University of Liège. [Downloadable!]
  11. David McCarthy, 2003. "A Lifecycle Analysis of Defined Benefit Pension Plans," Working Papers wp053, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
  12. Agar Brugiavini & Gwenaël Piaser, 2006. "Non-exclusivity and adverse selection: An application to the annuity market," Working Papers 2006_39, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari", Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  13. Impavido, Gregorio & Thorburn, Craig & Wadsworth, Mike, 2004. "A conceptual framework for retirement products : Risk sharing arrangements between providers and retirees," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3208, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  14. David McCarthy, 2004. "Decaying Asymmetric Information and Adverse Selection in Annuities," Working Papers wp080, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
  15. Barry P. Bosworth & Ralph C. Bryant & Gary Burtless, 2004. "The Impact of Aging on Financial Markets and the Economy: A Survey," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College 2004-23, Center for Retirement Research. [Downloadable!]
  16. Amy Finkelstein & Kathleen McGarry, 2006. "Multiple Dimensions of Private Information: Evidence from the Long-Term Care Insurance Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(4), pages 938-958, September. [Downloadable!]
  17. David Demery & Nigel Duck, 2006. "Savings–age profiles in the UK," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 521-541, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Michael Hoy & Michael Ruse, 2008. "“No Solution to This Dilemma Exists”: Discrimination, Insurance, and the Human Genome Project," Working Papers 0808, University of Guelph, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  19. Oded Palmon & Avia Spivak, 2007. "Adverse selection and the market for annuities," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Theory, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 37-59, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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