We investigate the development of public pensions in Germany and how its significance will change when the multi-pillar systems matures due to population aging. The message of our analysis is complex. Even after the pension reforms which took place between 2001 and 2007 public pensions will...

In spring 2007 the German government increased the statutory retirement age from 65 to 67. We simulate the long-term impact of this measure on the budget of the German public pension system. In contrast to previous simulations our results are based on a model that explicitly accounts for...

We discuss the development of predictive choice models that go beyond the random utility model in its narrowest formulation. Such approaches incorporate several elements of cognitive process that have been identified as important to the choice process, including strong dependence on history and...

As the publicly financed pay-as-you-go pension systems in Europe come under increasing pressure, workers and politicians rediscover private savings for retirement in Europe - the provision of self-financed rather than state-financed old-age insurance. This paper summarizes our knowledge about...

Attitudes with respect to risk bearing, self-control and impatience are potentially important determinants of a households' decision whether or not to hold a certain assets. They are, however, hard to measure. This paper acknowledges the endogeneity of common measures of risk attitudes and...

The so called actuarial adjustments of public pension benefits to the retirement age are quite controversial in the German retirement insurance system. This article aims to shed light on the technical details in order to help our readers to determine for themselves what the "right" adjustments...

This paper sheds light on the difficulties of pension reforms by analyzing the citizens´opinions on different aspects of the welfare state and its redistributive programs. We focus on the pension system, reporting the results of a questionnaire conducted in Germany and Italy in the Fall 2001....

This paper summarizes the main findings of a survey that explores the relation between pension policy and private savings in Germany. The survey was conducted in February/March 2000. Similar surveys were conducted in France, Italy and Spain. Main aim of the survey was to explore how many workers...

This paper argues that the pay-as-you-go systems that dominate the old age social security programs in Europe cannot provide the flexibility necessary to master the demographic changes to come. They are locked between the Scylla of low pension levels and the Charybdis of high contribution rates....

Household saving is still little understood, and even the basic facts - for instance: How does saving change over the life cycle? Does saving turn negative in old age? - are controversial. This review article adds an international dimension to the many studies of saving. It presents the results...