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The Trajectory of Wealth in Retirement

Author

Listed:
  • David A. Love
  • Michael G. Palumbo
  • Paul A. Smith

Abstract

As the baby boomers begin to retire, a great deal remains unknown about the evolution of wealth toward the end of life. In this paper, we develop a new measure of household resources that converts total financial, nonfinancial, and annuitized assets into an expected annual amount of wealth per person. We use this measure, which we call "annualized comprehensive wealth" to investigate spend-down behavior among older households in the Health and Retirement Study. Our analysis indicates that, in (real) dollar terms, the median household's wealth declines more slowly than its remaining life expectancy, so that real annualized wealth actually tends to rise with age over retirement. Comparing the estimated age profiles for annualized wealth with profiles simulated from several different life cycle models, we find that a model that takes into account uncertain longevity, uncertain medical expenses, and (for higher-income retirees) intended bequests lines up best with the HRS data.

Suggested Citation

  • David A. Love & Michael G. Palumbo & Paul A. Smith, 2008. "The Trajectory of Wealth in Retirement," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2008-7, Center for Retirement Research, revised Feb 2008.
    • Handle: RePEc:crr:crrwps:wp2008-7
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    File URL: http://crr.bc.edu/working-papers/the-trajectory-of-wealth-in-retirement/
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    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General

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