By Jason Fichtner

Insight Overview

IDEAS IN THIS INSIGHT YOU CAN PUT INTO ACTION

The authors’ research findings suggest the following insights: (1) Low annuitization rates might be explained by pension plan structure design (i.e., a plan might require a survey participant to take a retirement benefit in the form of a lump-sum payment if the individual has an account balance below a certain threshold), rather than consumer preferences. (2) The framing of the annuitization decision for retirees might impact their decisions, with a consumption frame promoting annuitization and an investment frame discouraging annuitization.