In spite of the high costs and major financial risks involved in long-term care, majority older Americans do not own care insurance. We conducted a survey designed to learn more about role following four broad factors affecting demand for insurance: preferences beliefs, such as notions likelihood that one will become disabled; substitutes insurance, savings could be spent on care; formal provided by family members; features private market, concerns coverage. found evidence each these was...

We examine changes in subjective probabilities regarding retirement between the 2006 and 2008 waves of Health Retirement Study. Using a first-difference approach to eliminate individual heterogeneity, we find that steep drop asset prices increased reported probability working at age 62 during Great Recession. Increasing unemployment least partly attenuated this effect, but did not respond housing markets. Older workers' were more sensitive fluctuations stock market, less responsive labor...

In a nationally representative sample, we predict retirement savings using survey‐based elicitations of exponential‐growth bias (EGB) and present (PB). We find that EGB, the tendency to neglect compounding, PB, value over future, are highly significant economically meaningful predictors savings. These relationships hold controlling for cognitive ability, financial literacy, rich set demographic controls. address measurement error as potential confound explore mechanisms through which these...

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) includes several provisions designed to expand health insurance coverage that also alter the tie between employment and insurance. In this paper, we exploit variation across geographic areas in potential impact of ACA estimate its effect on labor market outcomes first four years. Our findings indicate approximately 70 percent increase since 2013 is due ACA. We find these increases did not result statistically significant changes outcomes.

Abstract A standard result of life‐cycle models under uncertainty is that optimizing individuals equate the expected marginal utility consumption across states world if insurance available at actuarially fair rates. small empirical literature has suggested lower in less healthy states. We use a novel survey‐based measure to document significant heterogeneity health‐state dependence largely orthogonal controls. further show value unhealthy more when facing work‐limiting disabilities than...

Defaults have been shown to a powerful effect on retirement saving behavior yet there is limited research who most affected by defaults and whether this varies based features of the choice environment. Using administrative data employer-sponsored accounts linked survey data, we estimate relationship between choices individual characteristics – long-term discounting, present bias, financial literacy, exponential growth bias under two distinct environments: an opt-in regime auto-enrollment...

One of the most commonly cited studies on effect child subsidies fertility, Whittington, Alm, and Peters (1990), claimed a large positive tax benefits fertility using time series methods. We revisit this question in light recent increases by replicating earlier study extending analysis. do not find strong evidence to justify model specification from original paper. Moreover, even if is appropriate, we show that results are robust more general measures benefits. (JEL H24, J13)

We study the effect of incorporating heterogeneity into default rules by examining choice between retirement plans at a firm that transitioned from defined benefit (DB) to contribution (DC) plan. The plan for existing employees varied discontinuously depending on their age. Employing regression discontinuity techniques, we find increased probability enrollment in 60 percentage points. develop framework solve optimal rule analytically and numerically considerable welfare gains are possible if...

Abstract Despite the large and growing returns to deferring Social Security benefits, most individuals claim before full retirement age. In this paper, we use a panel of administrative tax data on likely financially benefit from delaying claiming explore relationship between distributions tax-advantaged savings accounts. We find that majority our sample prior taking Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). also third have IRA balances equivalent at least two additional years quarter 4...