Germany still has a very generous public pay-as-you-go pension system. It is characterized by early effective retirement ages and very high effective replacement rates. Most workers receive virtually all of their retirement income from this public retirement insurance. Costs are almost 12...

This paper is motivated by the idea to create, wherever possible, rational mechanisms that adapt pension systems automatically to a changed economic and demographic environment, rather than to leave such adaptations to discretionary high-profile pension reforms which all too often stir political...

Over and again, the reduction of working time is praised as the instrument against unemployment in Europe. While the first round argument appears obvious – less work for some will create more work for others – second round repercussions, such as consequential labor cost increases,...

The paper examines the generosity of the European welfare state towards the elderly. It shows how various dimensions of the welfare regimes have changed during the recent 10-15 years and how this evolution was related to the process of economic integration. Dimensions include general generosity...

Global aging will be a major determinant of long run economic development in industrial and developing countries. The extent of the demographic changes is dramatic and will deeply affect future labor, financial and goods markets. The expected strain on public budgets and especially social...

Der demographische Wandel ist auch für Baden-Württemberg einer der „Megatrends“ dieses Jahrhunderts, der die politische, soziale und ökonomische Situation des Landes entscheidend verändern wird. In 25 Jahren wird jeder dritte Bürger Baden-Württembergs 60 Jahre oder älter sein....

Disability insurance – the insurance against the loss of the ability to work – is a substantial part of social security expenditures in many countries. The enrolment rates in disability insurance vary strikingly across European countries and the US. This paper investigates the...

Im Jahr 2001 wurde mit der Einführung der so genannten Riester-Rente ein Paradigmenwechsel in der Altersvorsorge eingeleitet. Durch die Finanzkrise 2008/09 ist die Frage, wie groß das Risiko der kapitalgedeckten Altersvorsorge ist, jedoch wieder aktuell geworden. Vor allem wird diskutiert, ob...

Abstract Retrospective data play an important role in social science research. This paper provides an overview of problems arising during the process and also presents the solutions found in the field. It also shows details of the collection of retrospective data in the Survey of Health, Ageing...

Der Sachverständigenrat hat in seinem Jahresgutachten 2008/09 einen Vorschlag zur Schaffung eines einheitlichen Rentensystems unterbreitet, aber keine Wirkungsanalyse veröffentlicht. Diese Analyse ist Ziel dieser Studie. Sie zeigt, dass die Auswirkungen des Reformvorschlags entscheidend von...