Do Germans save to leave an estate? An examination of the bequest motive

I investigate whether a bequest motive for savings influences the post-reti rement wealth trajectories of German households. Two measures of the beques t motive are studied: the existence of children as the main group of potent ial heirs and the respondents' declared intention to bequeath. While having children has no significant impact on households' wealth trajectories, sta ted bequest intentions are associated with considerable heterogeneity in we alth holdings. The main conclusion from this study is that both the pure li fe-cycle model and the life-cycle model with bequest motives provide a vali d basis for a theory of household wealth accumulation once the heterogeneit y of preferences is acknowledged.