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How Much Do Means-Tested Benefits Reduce the Demand for Annuities?

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  • Monika Bütler
  • Kim Peijnenburg
  • Stefan Staubli

Abstract

We analyze the effect of means-tested benefits on annuitization decisions. Most industrialized countries provide a subsistence level consumption floor in old age, usually in the form of means-tested benefits. The availability of such means-tested payments creates an incentive to cash out (occupational) pension wealth for low and middle income earners, instead of taking the annuity. Agents trade-off the advantages from annuitization, receiving the wealth-enhancing mortality credit, to the disadvantages, giving up “free” wealth in the form of means-tested supplemental benefits. We find that the availability of means-tested benefits can reduce the desired annuitization levels substantially. Using individual level data, we show that the model’s predicted annuitization rates as a function of the level of pension wealth are roughly consistent with the cash-out patterns of occupational pension wealth observed in Switzerland.

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  • Monika Bütler & Kim Peijnenburg & Stefan Staubli, 2011. "How Much Do Means-Tested Benefits Reduce the Demand for Annuities?," CESifo Working Paper Series 3493, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_3493
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Barbezug des PK Vermögens? Teil 2
      by Monika Bütler in BATZ.ch on 2014-07-04 18:27:54

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    3. Reto Foellmi & Isabel Z. Martínez, 2017. "Volatile Top Income Shares in Switzerland? Reassessing the Evolution between 1981 and 2010," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(5), pages 793-809, December.
    4. Hardy Hulley & Rebecca Mckibbin & Andreas Pedersen & Susan Thorp, 2013. "Means-Tested Public Pensions, Portfolio Choice and Decumulation in Retirement," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 89(284), pages 31-51, March.
    5. Börsch-Supan, Axel & Härtl, Klaus & Leite, Duarte N., 2018. "Earnings test, non-actuarial adjustments and flexible retirement," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 78-83.
    6. Johannes Hagen & Daniel Hallberg & Gabriella Sjögren, 2022. "A Nudge to Quit? The Effect of a Change in Pension Information on Annuitisation, Labour Supply and Retirement Choices Among Older Workers," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(643), pages 1060-1094.
    7. Ummul Ruthbah, 2022. "The retirement puzzle," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 47(2), pages 342-367, May.
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    9. Johannes Hagen, 2015. "The determinants of annuitization: evidence from Sweden," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 22(4), pages 549-578, August.
    10. Olivia S. Mitchell, 2018. "Enhancing risk management for an aging world," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Theory, Springer;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 43(2), pages 115-136, September.
    11. Siqi Tang & Sachi Purcal & Jinhui Zhang, 2018. "Life Insurance and Annuity Demand under Hyperbolic Discounting," Risks, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-10, April.
    12. Peijnenburg, J.M.J. & Nijman, T.E. & Werker, B.J.M., 2010. "Optimal Annuitization with Incomplete Annuity Markets and Background Risk During Retirement," Other publications TiSEM 0b8e2130-a64a-48c1-97d6-8, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    13. Gasche, Martin & Lamla, Bettina, 2012. "Erwartete Altersarmut in Deutschland: Pessimismus und Fehleinschätzungen – Ergebnisse aus der SAVE-Studie," MEA discussion paper series 201213, Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy.
    14. Beshears, John & Choi, James J. & Laibson, David & Madrian, Brigitte C. & Zeldes, Stephen P., 2014. "What makes annuitization more appealing?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 2-16.
    15. Pashchenko, Svetlana & Porapakkarm, Ponpoje, 2019. "Accounting for Social Security claiming behavior," MPRA Paper 97958, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Aleksandra Kolasa, 2022. "The long-term impact of quasi-universal transfers to older households," Working Papers 2022-28, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    17. Monika Bütler & Stefan Staubli, 2010. "Payouts in Switzerland: Explaining Developments in Annuitization," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2010 2010-06, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
    18. Peijnenburg, J.M.J. & Nijman, T.E. & Werker, B.J.M., 2010. "Health Cost Risk and Optimal Retirement Provision : A Simple Rule for Annuity Demand," Other publications TiSEM f178a33d-4386-4036-861f-6, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    19. Bonekamp, Johan & van Soest, Arthur, 2022. "Evidence of behavioural life-cycle features in spending patterns after retirement," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    means-tested benefits; occupational pension; annuity; life-cycle model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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