The main objective of this paper is to go deeper into the “annuity puzzle” by introducing the altruistic and strategic bequest motive and determining whether this really is a relevant factor affecting the theoretical decision to purchase life annuities. With this end in view we develop an...

It has been shown in economic research that public pay-as-you-go defined-benefit pension plans penalize those who continue to work beyond a certain age by reducing the present discounted value of future retirement benefits. In discussions on the effectiveness of policies aimed at eliminating...

This article has a twofold objective and addresses two central questions. Is there a gap between the preferences for and availability of various ways to make working patterns more flexible over the life course? What is the role of life course policy (LCP) in narrowing this gap? Using the...

There are two aims to this paper: firstly, to provide an objective technical assessment of the current situation of the contributory pension system in Spain and its prospects for the future, and secondly, to look at the issues surrounding the introduction of a system of notional defined...

This paper will try to explain the “annuities puzzle” in greater depth by introducing the bequest motive, both strategic and altruistic. It will try to determine whether this motive really is a relevant feature influencing the demand for lifetime annuities by married couples. With this aim...

I analyze the effects associated with the introduction of the earnings test on older Czech males' labor supply in 1996. Using data from the Labor Force Survey, I apply a difference-in-differences estimator to measure the effect of the policy change in the Czech pension scheme using a sample of...

This paper presents the methodology and results of labour force projections over the long term (until 2050) for each of the 25 EU Member States. These projections were undertaken in order to provide the background technical inputs for the assessment of the potential economic and fiscal impact of...

We examine the role of changing mortality in explaining the rise of retirement over the course of the 20th century. We construct a model in which individuals make labor/leisure choices over their lifetimes subject to uncertainty about their date of death. In an environment in which mortality is...

Paper presents a survey of five different approaches to retirement decision analysis. Simple life cycle labour supply model leads to a classical optimization problem of choice between work and leisure, but it is highly limited in explaining retirement decision as a static approach. Comparative...

This paper addresses an issue that has been overlooked in the literature on the effects of population ageing: Transmission onto small countries of the economic effects of population ageing, a natural, demographic outcome of the shock that many large industrial countries experienced in the form...