We examine preretirement lump sum distributions (LSDs) from pension plans, which have grown significantly in recent years. Most LSD recipients do not roll over the funds into qualified accounts, but the likelihood of rollover rises for larger distributions. We find evidence suggesting that tax...

We examine how long-term care insurance (LTCI) affects family outcomes expected to be sensitive to LTCI, including utilization of informal care and spillover effects on children. An instrumental variables approach allows us to address the endogeneity of LTCI coverage. LTCI coverage induces less...

While life insurance purchase decisions have long been studied, we still do not know how people decide if they need insurance or how much they need. Using in-depth interviews, we peer into the black box of employee decision-making to learn what people know about this employee-benefit, and how...

The group benefits landscape is changing dramatically. The menu of available options has grown; employers are paying for fewer benefits; and the responsibility for selecting the benefit package has been increasingly left to the employee. However, unlike in the pension world, very little is known...

Research on informal and formal long-term care has centered almost solely on costs; to date, there has been very little attention paid to the benefits. This study exploits the randomization in the Cash and Counseling Demonstration and Evaluation program and instrumental variable techniques to...

With the leading edge of the baby boom generation reaching retirement age, decision makers need a comprehensive understanding of their social, economic, and health characteristics – both in terms of resources and needs – in order to adopt effective public policies and private services to...

With the leading edge of the Baby Boom generation reaching traditional retirement ages, decision makers need a comprehensive understanding of the boomers' social, economic, and health characteristics – both in terms of resources and needs – in order to adopt effective public policies and...

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we compare actual inheritances received during the period 1994 to 2004 with the amounts that, in 1994, households anticipated receiving within 10 years. We find little evidence of systematic forecasting errors. The factors affecting inheritance...

With the leading edge of the baby boom generation reaching retirement age, decision makers need a comprehensive understanding of their social, economic, and health characteristics – both in terms of resources and needs – in order to adopt effective public policies and private services to...