English Abstract: Targeting is an important aim for social policy. Three case studies in this paper reflect typical short-comings in the targeting design of pension reforms. The first case study examines how well work disability and receipt of disability insurance match in Germany. We show that...

English Abstract: The purpose of disability insurance (DI) is to protect people with health problems that limit their ability to work. We evaluate the effectiveness of DI benefit programs in delivering this protection by following people's health and financial well-being after the take-up of DI...

English Abstract: As much like other industrialized countries, in recent decades the employment rate in Germany for those aged 55 to 69 had been declining first to considerably rise again afterwards. This paper investigates the role of structural policy changes, in particular reforms of the...

English Abstract: Flexible retirement is supposed to increase labor supply of older workers without touching the third rail of pension politics, the highly unpopular increase of the retirement age. While this may have intuitive appeal, this paper shows that it might be wishful thinking. Economic...

English Abstract: Over the past decades, combining pension benefits with work income has been made more accessible for pensioners in many European countries. The literature on working pensioners choosing a flexible transition into retirement is to date relatively sparse. This article adds to the...

German Abstract: Viele Staaten versuchen durch eine Anhebung des Renteneintrittsalters eine Verlängerung der Lebensarbeitszeit zu erreichen. Daher ist es von entscheidender Bedeutung zu verstehen, wie solche Maßnahmen die Rentenentscheidungen beeinflussen. In diesem Beitrag untersuche ich die...