Three essays on insurance planning for older Americans

Retirees encounter a variety of risks (e.g. insufficient retirement savings and poor health) that could undermine their well-being. Most individuals are not aware of such risks in old age, and even those who are aware tend not to utilize appropriate insurance products to mitigate such risks. In addition, understanding determinants of retirees’ well-being not only enables retirees to confront and manage risks but also helps policymakers and financial institutions develop and improve public and private programs that mitigate the financial burden of old-age longevity, illness, disability, and transferring wealth. Therefore, insurance planning, which is a critical component of a well-developed comprehensive financial plan, is usually undermined or addressed at the last minute. This dissertation includes three panel studies that provide deeper insights into the determinants of ownership of insurance products among older Americans and how insurance planning affects their retirement satisfaction. Using panel data from nine waves from 1998 to 2014 of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the first essay examines the determinants of being covered by long-term-care insurance by older Americans. Next, the second essay focuses on the the factors that may influence the ownership of life insurance, and the last essay studies the relationship between the ownership of three types o insurance products.