In this project we will learn about bequest behavior using new methods of measuring anticipated and actual bequests. The bequests households anticipate making will be available for up to seven rounds of our panel surveys so that we can track how and why these bequest intentions evolve over time. Actual bequests will be obtained for a large representative sample of decedents who had previously participated in some important household surveys so that their actual bequests can be compared to their previously stated bequest intentions as well as their prior levels of household wealth. Using this data, the project will document patterns of actual bequests left by representative samples of American households and assess the importance of bequests to recipients by describing distributions across all potential recipients-the surviving spouse, children, other relatives, charity, and others. Special emphasis will be given to surviving spouse since bequests may be critical in supplementing the annuity income of which they largely rely. Since they represent an important beneficiary theoretically and empirically, the distribution of inheritances left to children will also receive special attention. Our analysis will evaluate whether bequests are equal across children and when not equal which type of children receive more. We also will explore the evolution of intention to bequeath across the later years of life using panel date with multiple measurements of subjective bequest probabilities. Individuals as well as cohorts may revise their bequest intentions as new information becomes available on their survivor probabilities, on their general health, new grandchildren, the death of a close relative, or through unexpected economic gains or losses associated with the stock market. In this research we will predicts what will happen to levels and distribution of bequests that will be left in the future and develop the implications of a new index of future household savings.
