Demand for life annuities, critical illness insurance, and long-term care insurance

Abstract

We develop a rich life-cycle model to assess the demand for life annuities, critical illness insurance, and long-term care (LTC) insurance by retirees in a portfolio-allocation setting. We calibrate our model to urban China, where retirees face limited public insurance and undeveloped private markets. We show that retirees with a low public pension should allocate at least 30% of their financial wealth at retirement to a life annuity. Those with an average pension should allocate at least 30% to critical illness insurance. The allocation to LTC insurance ranges from 5% to 33% across all economic profiles considered. Access to critical illness and LTC insurance does not necessarily increase annuity demand. However, access to annuities decreases LTC insurance demand. Our results suggest that countries with limited public insurance should first ensure the adequacy of retirement income and then focus on covering catastrophic medical expenses while providing basic LTC services for all.