Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/26256 
Year of Publication: 
2008
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 2211
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
This paper examines the optimal design of pension plans when the health status during retirement is uncertain. Assuming that the health status affects both life expectancy and the marginal utility of consumption, choice between a lump-sum payment and an annuity can be welfare-enhancing if the health status is not observable by pension plans. This result holds if the marginal utility of consumption and life expectancy are negatively correlated. On equity grounds, a lump-sum option can be justified even if the marginal utility of consumption is independent of life expectancy.
Subjects: 
pensions
lump-sum withdrawal
annuities
longevity
JEL: 
G23
H55
D82
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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