Lifetime Expected Income Breakeven Comparison between SPIAs and Managed Portfolios (A Descriptive Work for Data that is in SSRN Abstract http://ssrn.com/abstract= 2317857)

Abstract

This paper is a more detailed description of data found at http://ssrn.com/abstract= 2317857.

Additionally, A practical application is described here, so that the comparative process may be simplified, and a comparison may be made in the future as insurance company Annual Payout Rates rise or fall.

This paper provides insight and guidance for the retiree decision making between whether to annuitize or manage their retirement savings. Tables and graphs demonstrate the breakeven age between annuitizing with a single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) versus managing a portfolio and the likelihood of outliving the breakeven cash flow sums for various annuitization ages (65 to 85), longevity percentiles of Period Life Tables, and portfolio allocations.

What are breakeven asset allocations below which a SPIA provides a higher lifetime expected total cash flow? Managed portfolios retain a balance at death while SPIAs have none. How does the cash flow breakeven comparison change when that balance is, or is not, considered? Does age matter in the decision to switch from a managed portfolio to a SPIA? Is there a different conclusion if different tables are used (Social Security Table "General Population" vs Annuity 2000 Table ("Healthy Population"))? How do good vs median vs poor markets affect the breakeven comparison? How do fees affected the comparison? Can the Annual Payout Rate (APR) of a SPIA be useful in the decision making process?

Note: The cash flow in this paper is based on zero asset management fees, ½% fees or 1% fees. However, note that the fees are taken from the cash flow, not the portfolio balance, in this paper. This tilts the analysis in favor of SPIAs. Example: a 1% fee on a $500,000 portfolio would be $5000 for the year. If the cash flow for that year was calculated to be $25,000 (5% of portfolio value), then the net cash flow to the retiree would be $20,000 ($25k - $5k). However, if the portfolio itself pays the management fees, which is more common, then the $5,000 fee in this example would come from the $500,000, thus the cash flow calculation would be 5% on the $495,000 portfolio => $24,750 net to the retiree. Cash flow in this paper is based on the prior form, and thus biases the results towards SPIAs earlier than would normally be the case.

Keywords: SPIA, Immediate annuity, managed diversified portfolio, cash flow comparisons, breakeven comparison

JEL Classification: D14, D81, D90, G11, G17