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How Strong are Bequest Motives? Evidence Based on Estimates of the Demand for Life Insurance and Annuities / B. Douglas Bernheim.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Bernheim, B. Douglas.
- Series:
- Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w2942.
- NBER working paper series no. w2942
- Language:
- English
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);
- Place of Publication:
- Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1989.
- Summary:
- This paper presents new empirical evidence in support of the view that a significant fraction of total saving is motivated solely by the desire to leave bequests. Specifically, I find that Social Security annuity benefits significantly raise life insurance holdings and depress private annuity holdings among elderly individuals. These patterns indicate that the typical household would choose to maintain a positive fraction of its resources in bequeathable forms, even if insurance markets were perfect. Evidence on the relationship between insurance purchases and total resources reinforces this conclusion.
- Notes:
- Print version record
- April 1989.
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