Until recently we have known little about how core decision processes change with age and how aging may impact the structure and function of corresponding ventromedial frontostriatal neural systems (Samanez-Larkin & Knutson, 2014). The chapter begins by briefly orienting the reader to...

As the global population ages, older decision makers will be required to take greater responsibility for their own physical, psychological and financial well-being. With this in mind, researchers have begun to examine the effects of ageing on decision making and associated neural circuits. A new...

With the decline of defined benefit (DB) pension plans, there has been some renewed interest in providing other annuity income options to American workers, but demand for annuities has remained low in the United States. To develop future annuity income solutions, it is important to understand...

This paper presents evidence suggesting that a large part of the older population may be making involuntary spending adjustments. The data used for this analysis come from the 2009 Internet Survey of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the most comprehensive national survey of older...

The wide gulf between actual and predicted annuity demand has been well documented. However, a comparable gap exists between the current and ideal annuity market. In a world with costly and limited annuity products, we investigate what types of new annuity products could improve annuity market...

Individual's decisions regarding their retirement savings have usually been theoretically approached under the hypothesis that the Social Security System works as a substitute to other savings mechanisms. This document presents empirical evidence of the determinants and patterns of savings for...

This paper assesses the impact of different quantitative approaches to regulate investment risk on the retirement income stemming from defined contribution (DC) pension plans. It looks at how such regulations affect the spectrum of investment policies available and, through this channel, how...

We analyze lifecycle saving strategies using a recursive utility model calibrated to match empirical estimates for the value of a statistical life. We show that, with a positive value of life, risk aversion reduces savings and annuity purchase. Risk averse agents are willing to make an early...

The reverse mortgage market has been expanding rapidly in developed economies in recent years. The onset of demographic transition places a rapidly rising number of households in an age window where reverse mortgages have potential appeal, and increasing prices for residential real estate over...

A major change in the training of actuaries in the period since the 1990s has been the introduction of the concepts underlying financial economics into the mainstream of actuarial coursework. Yet in this same period, three parallel developments have taken place - changes in the traditional role...