Women should put 40% to 80% of retirement assets into lifetime income annuities, according to Lifetime Income for Women: A Financial Economist’s Perspective, a paper by David Babbel, professor of insurance and finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. New York Life Insurance Company funded some of the author’s research.
As reported in the paper, some women are hesitant to purchase income annuities because of the products’ seeming inflexibility. However, Babbel argues that some carriers have taken care of this worry with fixed withdrawals for emergencies, limited protection against insurer insolvency, death benefits, and a refund of the investment to heirs if the policyholder dies shortly after purchase.