@techreport{NBERw3547,
 title = "Aging and the Income Value of Housing Wealth",
 author = "Steven F. Venti and David A. Wise",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "3547",
 year = "1990",
 month = "December",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w3547",
 abstract = {The potential of reverse annuity mortgages to increase the current income of the elderly is analyzed. We conclude that most low-income elderly also have little housing equity, although this is not always the case. In general, a reverse annuity mortgage would substantially affect the income only of the single elderly who are very old -- whose life expectancy is short. On the other hand, if the transfer were in the form of a lump sum amount -- rather than an annuity -- the payment would increase the liquid wealth of most elderly families by a large fraction. Thus legislation that would facilitate the market for reverse mortgages could improve substantially the financial status of a small proportion of the elderly. But the specter of a large number of poor widows with vast amounts of "locked-in" housing equity does not reflect the reality. Most low-income elderly have relatively little housing wealth.},
}