This paper offers a financial economic perspective on the optimal time (and age) at which the owner of a Variable Annuity (VA) policy with a Guaranteed Living Withdrawal Benefit (GLWB) rider should initiate guaranteed lifetime income payments. We abstract from utility, bequest and consumption...

type="main" xml:lang="en" <title type="main">Abstract</title> <p>We analyze an insurance instrument called a ruin-contingent life annuity (RCLA), which is a stand-alone version of the option embedded inside a variable annuity (VA) but without the buyer having to transfer investments to the insurance company. The annuitant's...</p>