This paper uses a cohort microsimulation model to analyse intragenerational distributional effects of a shift from a defined benefit pay‐as‐you‐go pension system that includes flat rate component and length of pensionable service component to a pension system with contribution based...

We show how the age profile of earnings, retirement rules and retirement behavior are tightly linked through the general equilibrium of the economy. Generous Social Security benefits financed by large Social Security taxes discourage human capital accumulation. In Social Security systems where...

In several countries where pensions are reformed and the retirement age is increased, the issue came up to make an exception for workers with demanding occupations, since health considerations may make it unreasonable to expect them to work longer. We analyze unique Dutch survey data on the...

We explore the implications of alternative methods of discounting future pension outlays for the valuation of funded pension liabilities. Measured liabilities affect the asset-liability ratio of pension funds and, thereby, their policies. Our framework for analysis is an applied many-generation...

This paper explores the effect of letting individuals choose their retirement age in a world of uncertainty where there exist both defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) pension plans. The paper shows that giving individuals the flexibility to determine when to retire is an important...

This paper explores the introduction of collective risk-sharing elements in defined contribution pension contracts. We consider status-contingent, age-contingent and asset contingent risk-sharing arrangements. All arrangements raise aggregate welfare, as measured by equivalent variations. While...

We analyze a collective defined contribution pension fund which aims at intergenerational risk sharing among different age cohorts using a return smoothing mechanism. Using a utility based framework, we find that approximately one third of unexpected return shocks should be directly passed on to...

This paper examines the empirical link between retirement and the supply of volunteer labor, using panel data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. To identify the causal impact, we exploit a major reform of the Australian Age Pension which has significantly...

It is a challenge for politics that an aging population leads to demands that the retirement age is increasing while not everyone is able to work to such a higher age. Sweden, like other countries, has several options for early exit from the labour market. However, the regulations have become...

This paper demonstrates that the link between heterogeneity in longevity and lifetime income across countries is mostly high and often increasing; that it translates into an implicit tax/subsidy, with rates reaching 20 percent and higher in some countries; that such rates risk perverting...