Household Ownership of Variable Annuities
Household Ownership of Variable Annuities
复制标题
可变年金的家庭所有权
DOI：
10.1086/tpe.20.20061907
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发表时间：
2006
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
J. Poterba
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Jeffrey R. Brown;J. Poterba
可变年金是过去二十年增长最快的金融产品之一。 1996 年至 2004 年间，美国可变年金的名义销售额增长了一倍多，从 510 亿美元增至 1300 亿美元。可变年金目前几乎占年金销售额的三分之二。与可变年金相关的投资回报类似于共同基金的投资回报，可变年金买家可以在一系列资产配置选项中进行选择。根据税法，可变年金被视为保险产品，因此买家在从可变年金账户中提取资金之前无需对其投资回报征税。本文描述了可变年金的税收处理，提供了其所有权模式的摘要信息，并探讨了家庭购买可变年金的几种不同动机的重要性。税收处理的讨论考察了 2001 年和 2003 年税收法案对可变年金和其他金融产品的相对税收处理的影响。 1998年和2001年消费者金融调查的家庭数据表明，可变年金所有权高度集中在高收入和高净财富人群中。然而，与其他几种类型的金融资产的所有权相比，可变年金所有权的集中度较低。关于税收激励措施在鼓励持有可变年金方面的作用的证据不一。在大部分收入分配中，拥有可变年金的概率随着边际税率的增加而增加，但最高税级家庭的概率低于税率稍低的家庭。
Variable annuities have been one of the most rapidly growing financial products of the last two decades. Between 1996 and 2004, nominal sales of variable annuities in the United States more than doubled, from $51 billion to $130 billion. Variable annuities now account for almost two-thirds of annuity sales. The investment returns associated with variable annuities resemble those from mutual funds, and variable annuity buyers can select among a range of asset allocation options. Variable annuities are considered insurance products under the tax law, so buyers are not taxed on their investment returns until they make withdrawals from their variable annuity accounts. This paper describes the tax treatment of variable annuities, presents summary information on their ownership patterns, and explores the importance of several distinct motives for household purchase of variable annuities. The discussion of tax treatment examines the impact of the 2001 and 2003 tax bills on the relative tax treatment of variable annuities and other financial products. Household data from the 1998 and 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances show that variable annuity ownership is highly concentrated among high-income and high net wealth sub-groups of the population. Variable annuity ownership is less concentrated, however, than ownership of several other types of financial assets. Evidence on the role of tax incentives in encouraging ownership of variable annuities is mixed. The probability of owning a variable annuity rises with the marginal tax rate throughout most of the income distribution, but it is lower for households in the top tax bracket than for those with slightly lower tax rates.