Table 5.

Proxies for bequest motives and ownership of life annuities in the Health and Retirement Study. All data are weighted using 1992 household weights. “Disagree” means the respondent and his or her partner disagree about the importance of leaving an inheritance. Annuity ownership rates correspond to annuities that last for life.

	Parental status			Importance of leaving an inheritance
	% of sample	Own annuity		Children	No children	Own annuity
Children	92.4%	4.8%	Very	22.8%	20.4%	4.4%
No children	7.6%	5.6%	Somewhat	44.2%	34.4%	5.0%
Full sample	100%	4.8%	Not at all	28.6%	42.8%	5.1%
			Disagree	4.5%	2.4%	3.3%