Preferences for annuities in Israel and their psychological determinants

This chapter examines retirement savings withdrawal preferences in Israel and the psychological and demographic factors that affect them, by questioning recipients in a setting where real-life pension decisions are made. Unlike findings from other countries, most of the participants preferred annuity over a lump sum withdrawal. Lower confidence in the system and higher self-confidence were significantly associated with lump sum withdrawals preference. We suggest that the preference for an annuity stems from a default setting: pension savings in Israel have long been defined benefit (DB), that is, a fixed pension which to the recipient is more similar to an annuitized defined contribution (DC) system than to a lump sum withdrawal.