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Optimal Retirement Asset Decumulation Strategies: The Impact of Housing Wealth

Author

Listed:
  • Sun Wei

    (Boston College)

  • Triest Robert K.

    (Boston College)

  • Webb Anthony

    (Boston College)

Abstract

A considerable literature examines the optimal decumulation of financial wealth in retirement. We extend this research to incorporate housing, which comprises the majority of most households' non-pension wealth.We estimate the relationship between the returns on housing, stocks, and bonds, and simulate a variety of decumulation strategies incorporating reverse mortgages. We show that homeowner's reversionary interest, the amount that can be borrowed through a reverse mortgage, is a surprisingly risky asset. Under our baseline assumptions, we find that the average household would be as much as 24 percent better off taking a reverse mortgage as a lifetime income relative to what appears to be the most common strategy: delaying tapping housing wealth until financial wealth is exhausted and then taking a line of credit. In addition, we show that housing wealth displaces bonds in optimal portfolios, making the low rate of participation in the stock market even more of a puzzle.

Suggested Citation

  • Sun Wei & Triest Robert K. & Webb Anthony, 2008. "Optimal Retirement Asset Decumulation Strategies: The Impact of Housing Wealth," Asia-Pacific Journal of Risk and Insurance, De Gruyter, vol. 3(1), pages 1-29, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:apjrin:v:3:y:2008:i:1:n:7
    DOI: 10.2202/2153-3792.1032
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    1. David Blake & Andrew Cairns & Guy Coughlan & Kevin Dowd & Richard MacMinn, 2013. "The New Life Market," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 80(3), pages 501-558, September.
    2. Mohammed Ishaq Mohammed & Noralfishah Sulaiman & Dahiru Adamu, 2018. "Dimensionality and Reliability of the Determinants of Reverse Mortgage Use Intention," Traektoriâ Nauki = Path of Science, Altezoro, s.r.o. & Dialog, vol. 4(2), pages 1013-1023, February.
    3. Jonathan Skinner, 2007. "Are You Sure You're Saving Enough for Retirement?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(3), pages 59-80, Summer.
    4. Blake David & Cairns Andrew & Dowd Kevin, 2008. "The Birth of the Life Market," Asia-Pacific Journal of Risk and Insurance, De Gruyter, vol. 3(1), pages 1-32, September.
    5. Jonathan Skinner, 2007. "Are You Sure You're Saving Enough for Retirement?," NBER Working Papers 12981, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. García-Huitrón, Manuel & Impavido, Gregorio & Lasagabaster, Esperanza, 2010. "New Policies for Mandatory Defined Contribution Pensions: Industrial Organization Models and Investment Products," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 365.
    7. Gregorio Impavido & Esperanza Lasagabaster & Manuel Garcia-Huitron, 2010. "New Policies for Mandatory Defined Contribution Pensions : Industrial Organization Models and Investment Products," World Bank Publications, The World Bank, number 2462, September.
    8. Blake, David & Cairns, Andrew & Dowd, Kevin, 2008. "Turning pension plans into pension planes: What investment strategy designers of defined contribution pension plans can learn from commercial aircraft designers," MPRA Paper 33749, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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