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The theory of life-cycle saving and investing

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Abstract

How much should a family save for retirement and for the kids? college education? How much insurance should they buy? How should they allocate their portfolio across different assets? What should a company choose as the default asset allocation for a mandatory retirement saving plan? We believe that the life-cycle model developed by economists over the last fifty years provides guidance for making such decisions. The theory teaches us to view financial assets as vehicles for transferring resources across different times and outcomes over the life cycle, and that perspective allows households and planners to think about their decisions in a logical and rigorous way. This paper lays out and illustrates the basic analytical framework from the theory in nonmathematical terms, with the aim of providing guidance to financial service providers, consumers, and policymakers.

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  • Zvi Bodie & Jonathan Treussard & Paul S. Willen, 2007. "The theory of life-cycle saving and investing," Public Policy Discussion Paper 07-3, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedbpp:07-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Keith Ambachtsheer, 2008. "The Canada Supplementary Pension Plan (CSPP): Towards an Adequate, Affordable Pension for All Canadians (also available in French)," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 265, May.
    2. Fabio C. Bagliano & Carolina Fugazza & Giovanna Nicodano, 2017. "A Life-Cycle Model with Unemployment Traps," Working papers 041, Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino.
    3. Doriana Ruffino, 2014. "Resuscitating Businessman Risk: A Rationale for Familiarity-Based Portfolios," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 17(1), pages 107-130, January.
    4. Paweł Rokita & Radosław Pietrzyk & Łukasz Feldman, 2014. "Multiobjective Optimization of Financing Household Goals with Multiple Investment Programs," Statistics in Transition new series, Główny Urząd Statystyczny (Polska), vol. 15(2), pages 243-268, March.
    5. Kuan Kiat Cheah & F Douglas Foster & Richard Heaney & Timothy Higgins & Barry Oliver & Terry O’Neill & Roslyn Russell, 2015. "Discussions on long-term financial choice," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 40(3), pages 414-434, August.
    6. Radosław Pietrzyk & Paweł Rokita, 2015. "Stochastic Goals In Financial Planning For A Two-Person Household," Statistics in Transition New Series, Polish Statistical Association, vol. 16(1), pages 111-136, March.
    7. Radosław Pietrzyk & Paweł Rokita, 2015. "Stochastic goals in financial planning for a two-person household," Statistics in Transition new series, Główny Urząd Statystyczny (Polska), vol. 16(1), pages 111-136, May.
    8. Girma Jirata Duguma & Jiqin Han, 2021. "Effect of deposit mobilization on the technical efficiency of rural saving and credit cooperatives: Evidence from Ethiopia," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(4), pages 621-647, December.

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    Saving and investment;

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