Partons-nous à la retraite trop tôt ?

It is often argued that implicit taxation on continued activity of elderly workers is responsible for the widely observed trend towards early retirement. In a first best world, it is certainly possible to eliminate this taxation and have a social security scheme that is redistributive and efficient at the same time. This paper shows that in a second best world, the optimal policy implies an inducement to retire early. We consider a model where the social objective is utilitarian and where individuals differ both in unobservable productivity and health status. Classification JEL : E62, H23, H55