Essays in household finance Pension funding, housing and consumption over the life cycle

This dissertation comprises three essays that explore the importance of pension funding and housing within the financial portfolios of Dutch households, and their effect on consumption decisions. The first essay considers the design of pension systems that provide both adequate income during retirement and liquidity during the accumulation phase of benefits. The second essay brings together administrative data and expenditure survey waves from the Dutch national statistical office to compare various imputation methods and to empirically investigate the determinants of household spending. The third essay studies the macroeconomic consequences of the different ways in which pension funds can close funding gaps.