Life-cycle models for long-term care,  health care and pensions: a review

We survey the use of life-cycle models in the analysis of pensions, health care, and long-term

care in ageing societies. It reviews how life-cycle frameworks with heterogeneous agents have

been extended to incorporate demographic change, health and care risks, family interactions, and

public insurance design. The discussion emphasizes key modelling choices, common mechanisms,

and trade-offs that shape quantitative results, including the roles of incomplete markets, meanstested

programs, and informal care provision. By comparing different strands of the literature,

the paper clarifies what existing models can and cannot say about long-run fiscal sustainability,

saving behavior, and policy design, and highlights important gaps for future research.