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Old Age Risks, Consumption, and Insurance

Author

Listed:
  • Blundell, Richard
  • Borella, Margherita
  • Commault, Jeanne
  • De Nardi, Mariacristina

Abstract

In the U.S, after age 65, households face income and health risks and a large fraction of these risks are transitory. While consumption significantly responds to transitory income shocks, out-of-pocket medical expenses do not. In contrast, both consumption and out-of-pocket medical expenses respond to transitory health shocks. Thus, most U.S. elderly keep their out-of-pocket medical expenses close to a satiation point that varies with health. Consumption responds to health shocks mostly because adverse health shocks reduce the marginal utility of consumption. The effect of health on marginal utility changes the optimal transfers due to health shocks.

Suggested Citation

  • Blundell, Richard & Borella, Margherita & Commault, Jeanne & De Nardi, Mariacristina, 2023. "Old Age Risks, Consumption, and Insurance," CEPR Discussion Papers 18047, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:18047
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    2. Elena Bassoli & Agar Brugiavini & Ludovico Carrino, 2024. "What are the costs of dementia in Europe?," Working Papers 2024: 13, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    3. Advani, Arun & Summers, Andy, 2022. "Measuring and taxing top incomes and wealth," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1403, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    4. Philippe De Donder & Marie‐Louise Leroux, 2021. "Long term care insurance with state‐dependent preferences," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(12), pages 3074-3086, December.
    5. Kindermann, Fabian & Kunz, Sebastian, 2025. "Unequal Lifespans and Redistribution," VfS Annual Conference 2025 (Cologne): Revival of Industrial Policy 325366, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. Pierre-Carl Michaud & Pascal St-Amour, 2023. "Longevity, Health and Housing Risks Management in Retirement," Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper Series 23-18, Swiss Finance Institute.
    7. Javier Adrián López Artero & Anna Sanz-de-Galdeano & Daniela Vuri, 2025. "When the Going Gets Tough: the Impact of Health Shocks on Divorce," CEIS Research Paper 597, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 15 Apr 2025.
    8. Lopez Artero, J.A.; & Sanz-de-Galdeano, A.; & Vuri, D.;, 2025. "When the Going Gets Tough: the Impact of Health Shocks on Divorce," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 25/04, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    9. Mariacristina De Nardi & Svetlana Pashchenko & Ponpoje Porapakkarm, 2025. "The Lifetime Costs of Bad Health," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 92(3), pages 1987-2026.
    10. Cortes, Darwin & Gallegos, Andrés & Perez Perez, Jorge, 2021. "The Spending Responses to Adverse Health Shocks: Evidence from a Panel of Colombian Households," SocArXiv vh2qa, Center for Open Science.
    11. Lukas Mahler & Minchul Yum, 2024. "Lifestyle Behaviors and Wealth‐Health Gaps in Germany," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 92(5), pages 1697-1733, September.
    12. Sagiri Kitao & Tomoaki Yamada, 2025. "The time trend and life-cycle profiles of consumption," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 71-111, March.
    13. Richard Foltyn & Jonna Olsson, 2024. "Subjective life expectancies, time preference heterogeneity, and wealth inequality," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 15(3), pages 699-736, July.
    14. Amo-Agyei, Silas, 2025. "The effect of health on the marginal utility of consumption: Evidence based on household consumption expenditure," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    15. David Sturrock & Stefan Groot & Jan Möhlmann, 2022. "Wealth, gifts, and estate planning at the end of life," CPB Discussion Paper 442, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    16. Ignacio Belloc & Pierre-André Chiappori & José Alberto Molina & Jorge Velilla, 2025. "Effects of wage shocks and saving changes on leisure time: The role of dynamic intra-household commitment," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 1099, Boston College Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • D15 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Intertemporal Household Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving

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