Optimal Life Insurance Decision in Mean-Variance DC Management with Mortality Improvements

Abstract

This paper studies the investment and insurance strategies of defined-contribution (DC) pension plans under the mean-variance framework. We consider a stochastic environment with time-varying interest rates, contributions, and mortality risk. The DC plan members are allowed to decide their bond and stock allocations, as well as their life insurance coverage. Adopting the martingale approach, we derive the closed-form optimal strategies and the mean-variance efficient frontier. Further numerical analysis investigates how mortality improvements affect investment and insurance decisions, as well as the sensitivity of the optimal decision to market parameters. Our analysis suggests that longevity raises expectations of future contributions, allowing pension members to adopt a less risky investment strategy. Meanwhile, insurance strategy shifts toward early adulthood to protect the high value of future income and decreases significantly at later ages. Moreover, we conduct sensitivity analyses on the target expected wealth, market price of risk, and contribution growth. These findings provide practical guidance for pension members on investment and offer insights for the design of DC pension plans.