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How Should We Insure Longevity Risk in Pensions and Social Security?

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by Jeffrey R. Brown

 

IB#4  

Introduction 

As baby boomers approach retirement, individuals and policymakers are increasingly concerned about retirement income security. Thanks to dramatic advances in life expectancy over the last century, today’s typical 65-year old man and woman can expect, on average, to live to ages 81 and 85 respectively. Perhaps even more impressive, over 17 percent of 65-year old men and over 31 percent of 65-year old women are expected to live to age 90 or beyond. Most people would agree with President Clinton that increasing life expectancy is "something wonderful." However, uncertainty about length of life carries the risk that individuals may outlive their resources and be forced to substantially reduce their living standards at advanced ages...

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This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it is Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a Faculty Research Fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research. The author wishes to especially thank Olivia Mitchell, James Poterba, and Mark Warshawsky for helpful comments and for their collaboration on much of the research on which this Issue in Brief is based. The author also thanks Peter Diamond, Andy Eschtruth, Martin Feldstein, Jeffrey Liebman, Alicia Munnell, Peter Orszag, and Annika Sundén for helpful discussions. Any errors or opinions expressed in this Issue in Brief are solely those of the author.
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