Does the elderly’s private pension ownership intensify aggregate equity demand? Empirical evidence in the US

In this paper, we investigate how the old generation income structure affects aggregate equity purchases, using Flows of Funds Accounts and Survey of Consumer Finances. Our results suggest that the risk aversion that increases with age could be modified to incorporate the old’s pension ownership. In particular, private pension income to elder households are related to increased aggregate equity purchases, even considering other pension and all other income. In this sense, private pensions are a ‘stepping-stone’ to increased equity investment in US households.