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Comparing Retirement Wealth Trajectories on Both Sides of the Pond

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas F. Crossley
  • Cormac O'Dea
  • Richard Blundell
  • Rowena Crawford
  • Eric French
  • Gemma Tetlow

Abstract

We use comparable data from the U.S. and England to examine similarities and differences in the level and trajectories of assets among households age 70 and older. We find that in the U.S. assets on average decline gradually with age, while in England older households actually accumulate wealth. These differences appear to be driven largely, though not entirely, by housing wealth: During the period we consider, house price growth drove increases in housing wealth in England that more than offset the slow drawdown of nonhousing wealth. This suggests the illiquid nature of housing is likely to be an important factor in explaining wealth drawdown at older ages. We also consider the potential importance of bequest motives and savings to insure against the risk of medical and long-term care expenses.
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Suggested Citation

  • Thomas F. Crossley & Cormac O'Dea & Richard Blundell & Rowena Crawford & Eric French & Gemma Tetlow, 2016. "Comparing Retirement Wealth Trajectories on Both Sides of the Pond," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 37, pages 105-130, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:ifs:fistud:v:37:y:2016:i::p:105-130
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Eric French & John Bailey Jones & Elaine Kelly & Jeremy McCauley, 2018. "End-of-Life Medical Expenses," Working Paper 18-18, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
    2. Richard Blundell & Margherita Borella & Jeanne Commault & Mariacristina De Nardi, 2024. "Old Age Risks, Consumption, and Insurance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(2), pages 575-613, February.
    3. Rory McGee & Eric French & John Bailey Jones, 2022. "Saving After Retirement," University of Western Ontario, Departmental Research Report Series 202213, University of Western Ontario, Department of Economics.
    4. Rowena Crawford & Cormac O'Dea, 2020. "Household portfolios and financial preparedness for retirement," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 11(2), pages 637-670, May.
    5. Holzmann, Robert & Ayuso, Mercedes & Alaminos, Estefanía & Bravo, Jorge Miguel, 2019. "Life Cycle Saving and Dissaving Revisited across Three-Tiered Income Groups: Starting Hypotheses, Refinement through Literature Review, and Ideas for Empirical Testing," IZA Discussion Papers 12655, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Martin Eling & Omid Ghavibazoo, 2019. "Research on long-term care insurance: status quo and directions for future research," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 44(2), pages 303-356, April.
    7. Daniel Barczyk & Sean Fahle & Matthias Kredler, 2023. "Save, Spend, or Give? A Model of Housing, Family Insurance, and Savings in Old Age," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(5), pages 2116-2187.
    8. Poterba, James & Venti, Steven & Wise, David A., 2018. "Longitudinal determinants of end-of-life wealth inequality," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 78-88.
    9. Makoto Nakajima & Irina A. Telyukova, 2020. "Home Equity In Retirement," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 61(2), pages 573-616, May.
    10. repec:osf:socarx:pj8d9_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Christian Dudel & Julian Schmied, 2019. "Pension adequacy standards: an empirical estimation strategy and results for the United States and Germany," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2019-003, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    12. Eric French & John Bailey Jones & Rory McGee, 2023. "Why Do Retired Households Draw Down Their Wealth So Slowly?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 37(4), pages 91-114, Fall.
    13. Chiara Dal Bianco, 2023. "Disability Insurance and the Effects of Return-to-work Policies," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 49, pages 351-373, July.
    14. Christian Dudel & Julian Schmied, 2023. "Pension benchmarks: empirical estimation and results for the United States and Germany," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(2), pages 171-188, June.

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