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Housing wealth decumulation, portfolio composition and financial literacy among the European elderly

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  • Agnese Romiti
  • Mariacristina Rossi

Abstract

This paper analyses the role played by financial literacy in savings decisions and wealth decumulation. The broad evidence shows that (elderly) households do not decumulate their assets as they age, contradicting the standard life-cycle theory, which predicts that households should decumulate their assets in order to keep their consumption smooth. In particular, older people seem to be very attached to illiquid assets, such as housing wealth, which is far more difficult to liquidate and use to face unexpected shocks and to smooth consumption. Using the SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe) survey, we try to detect whether more financial literacy brings about more optimal behaviour from a life-cycle perspective, and we look at the impact of financial literacy on three different dimensions of savings decisions: an unbalanced portfolio with excessive weight assigned to illiquid assets, the optimal consumption path, and housing wealth decumulation. According to our findings, financial literacy substantially reduces the portfolio imbalance of people aged 50+ by reducing the weight of housing wealth over total net worth; at the same time, it is responsible for a more optimal consumption path and for housing wealth decumulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Agnese Romiti & Mariacristina Rossi, 2012. "Housing wealth decumulation, portfolio composition and financial literacy among the European elderly," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 289, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    • Handle: RePEc:cca:wpaper:289
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Maarten C.J. van Rooij & Annamaria Lusardi & Rob J.M. Alessie, 2012. "Financial Literacy, Retirement Planning and Household Wealth," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 122(560), pages 449-478, May.
    2. repec:ecj:econjl:v:122:y:2012:i::p:449-478 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. The elderly are not decumulating their wealth fast enough
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2013-05-02 19:11:00

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Arts, Jori & Ponds, Eduard, 2016. "The Need for Flexible Take-ups of Home Equity and Pension Wealth in Retirement," Other publications TiSEM 4331ef5b-798f-48dd-8bb5-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    2. Edyta Marcinkiewicz & Filip Chybalski, 2022. "Income-Poor, Asset-Rich? The Role of Homeownership in Shaping the Welfare Position of the Elderly," LWS Working papers 38, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    3. Sara Lamboglia & Massimiliano Stacchini, 2023. "On the drivers of financial literacy: the role of intergenerational mobility," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 766, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    4. Mariacristina Rossi & Dario Sansone, 2018. "Precautionary savings and the self-employed," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 105-127, June.
    5. Dillingh, Rik & Prast, Henriette & Rossi, Mariacristina & Urzì Brancati, Cesira, 2017. "Who wants to have their home and eat it too? Interest in reverse mortgages in the Netherlands," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 25-37.
    6. Sara Lamboglia & Fabio Travaglino, 2022. "Statistical sources for assessing financial literacy," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 725, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    7. Dillingh, Rik, 2016. "Empirical essays on behavioral economics and lifecycle decisions," Other publications TiSEM 0e2143e3-bd86-4302-90eb-e, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    8. Sara Lamboglia & Massimiliano Stacchini, 2022. "Financial literacy, numeracy and schooling: evidence from developed countries," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 722, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial literacy; savings; wealth decumulation; housing; portfolio;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions

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