Developing and maintaining a robust financial plan in retirement is a classic actuarial problem involving the time-value of money and life contingencies. This problem is easily solved with basic actuarial principles, including periodic comparisons of household assets and spending liabilities.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Anticipating "Lumpy" Expenditure Needs
As indicated in previous
posts, I believe it is not unreasonable to manage risks in retirement
by diversifying sources of retirement income. This article discusses research that
explains why individuals are "more likely to select an annuity option when
a 'partial' option is offered instead of an 'all or nothing'
option." I especially liked the comment from one of the researchers
who said, “If you anticipate lumpy expenditure needs in retirement (e.g.,
out-of-pocket medical expenses), you want some liquid wealth to cover those
expenses."