Hubener, AndreasMaurer, RaimondMitchell, Olivia S2023-05-232023-05-232013-10-012019-06-26https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/43548Household decisions are profoundly shaped by a complex set of financial options due to Social Security rules determining retirement, spousal, and survivor benefits, along with benefit adjustments that vary with the age at which these are claimed. These rules influence optimal household asset allocation, insurance, and work decisions, given life cycle demographic shocks such as marriage, divorce, and children. Our model generates a wealth profile and a low and stable equity fraction consistent with empirical evidence. We also confirm predictions that wives will claim retirement benefits earlier than husbands, while life insurance is mainly purchased by younger men. Our policy simulations imply that eliminating survivor benefits would sharply reduce claiming differences by sex while dramatically increasing men’s life insurance purchases.Opinions and errors are solely those of the authors and not of the institutions with whom the authors are affiliated. © 2013 Hubener, Maurer, and Mitchell. All rights reserved.EconomicsWorking Paper