Retirement Investing: A New Approach

Zvi Bodie
WP2001-08

Abstract — This paper proposes a new approach to investing for retirement that takes advantage of recent market innovations and advances in finance theory to improve the risk/reward opportunities available to individual investors before and after retirement. The approach introduces three new elements:

  • It uses inflation-protected bonds to hedge a minimum standard of living after retirement.
  • It takes account of a person’s willingness to postpone retirement.
  • It uses option “ladders” to lever growth in retirement income.