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The Interplay of Wealth, Retirement Decisions, Policy and Economic Shocks

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  • John Karl Scholz

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Ananth Seshadri

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Abstract

We develop a model of health investments and consumption over the life cycle where health affects longevity, provides flow utility, and retirement is endogenous. We develop a rich, numerical life-cycle model to study the complex interrelationship between health and wealth and the age of retirement. The decision to retire depends on a number of factors including earnings and health shocks, demographic characteristics, preferences, pensions, and social security. We incorporate these features in a computational model of optimal wealth and retirement decisions, solving the model household-by-household using data from the HRS. We use the model to study how workers would respond to an increase in the early eligibility age of retirement (EEA), and to what extent will the bad economy alter retirement plans. We find that increasing the EEA results in sizeable responses to the age of retirement but does not affect health outcomes very much. A 20 percent reduction in wealth induces households to delay retirement by one year, on average, with poor households being relatively unaffected.

Suggested Citation

  • John Karl Scholz & Ananth Seshadri, 2012. "The Interplay of Wealth, Retirement Decisions, Policy and Economic Shocks," Working Papers wp271, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    • Handle: RePEc:mrr:papers:wp271
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    Cited by:

    1. Gustman, Alan L. & Steinmeier, Thomas L., 2015. "Effects of social security policies on benefit claiming, retirement and saving," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 51-62.
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    3. Titus Galama, 2011. "A Contribution to Health Capital Theory," Working Papers WR-831, RAND Corporation.

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