%0 Journal Article %J Journal of Pension Economics and Finance %D 2014 %T How is economic hardship avoided by those retiring before the Social Security entitlement age? %A Kevin Milligan %K Health Conditions and Status %K Income %K Net Worth and Assets %K Pensions %K Retirement Planning and Satisfaction %K Social Security %X Governments around the world are reacting to extended lifespans and troubled pension finances by increasing the age of retirement benefit entitlement. This paper studies those who retire before the age of full pension entitlement in the USA using data drawn from the Health and Retirement Study. The major finding is that four out of five people who have zero earnings at pre-entitlement ages are able to find a way to lift their incomes over the poverty line. For men, pension and annuity income are important while for women, spousal income helps most to get them over the line. %B Journal of Pension Economics and Finance %I 13 %V 13 %P 420-438 %G eng %N 4 %4 pensions/poverty/retirement/Social Security/old age pensions/pension income/annuity income/household income %$ 999999 %R 10.1017/S1474747214000171 %0 Journal Article %J Review of Income and Wealth %D 2009 %T How Household Portfolios Evolve after Retirement: The Effect of Aging and Health Shocks %A Courtney Coile %A Kevin Milligan %K Net Worth and Assets %X We study how the portfolios of U.S. households evolve after retirement, using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). In particular, we investigate the influence of aging and health shocks on a household's ownership of various assets and on the share of total assets held in each asset class. We find that households decrease their ownership of principal residences, vehicles, financial assets, businesses, and real estate as they age, while increasing the share of assets held in liquid assets and time deposits. We find that widowhood and other health shocks are associated with the same kinds of portfolio changes, and that the effect of shocks strengthens with time since the shock. Finally, we show that the effect of a shock is greatly magnified when households have physical or mental impairments. This suggests that factors other than standard risk and return considerations weigh heavily in many older households' portfolio decisions. %B Review of Income and Wealth %I 59 %V 59 %P 226-248 %G eng %N 2 %4 Retirement Wealth/Portfolio Choice/Assets/asset choice %$ 20720 %R 10.1111/j.1475-4991.2009.00320.x