IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ssb/dispap/855.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Closing the gender gap in pensions. A microsimulation analysis of the Norwegian NDC pension system

Author

Listed:

Abstract

In this paper we use an advanced micro-simulation model to study the distributional effects of the reformed Norwegian pension system with a particular focus on gender equality. The reformed Norwegian system is based on the NDC-formula with fixed contribution/accrual rates over the active life-phase and with accumulated pension wealth being transformed into an annuity upon retirement. A number of redistributive components are built into the system that makes it deviate from complete actuarial fairness: a unisex annuity divisor, a ceiling on annual earnings, generous child credits, a possibility for widows/widowers to inherit pension rights from a deceased spouse, a targeted guarantee pensions with higher benefit rates to single pensioners compared to married/cohabitating pensioners, and finally the tax system that is particularly progressive in its treatment of pensioners and pension income. Taking complete actuarial fairness as the point of departure, we conduct a stepwise analysis to investigate how these different components of the National Insurance pension system impact on the gender gap in pensions and on inequality in the distribution of pension income within a cohort of pensioners.

Suggested Citation

  • Elin Halvorsen & Axel West Pedersen, 2017. "Closing the gender gap in pensions. A microsimulation analysis of the Norwegian NDC pension system," Discussion Papers 855, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
  • Handle: RePEc:ssb:dispap:855
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ssb.no/en/forskning/discussion-papers/_attachment/296402
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Assar Lindbeck & Mats Persson, 2003. "The Gains from Pension Reform," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 41(1), pages 74-112, March.
    2. Richard Disney, 2004. "Are contributions to public pension programmes a tax on employment? [‘Welfare state and competitiveness’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 19(39), pages 268-311.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Iñigo Iturbe-Ormaetxe & Guadalupe Valera, 2012. "Social security reform and the support for public education," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(2), pages 609-634, January.
    2. Carlos Vidal-Meliá & Mar𨁤el Carmen Boado-Penas, 2013. "Compiling the actuarial balance for pay-as-you-go pension systems. Is it better to use the hidden asset or the contribution asset?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(10), pages 1303-1320, April.
    3. Galasso, Vincenzo & Profeta, Paola, 2007. "How does ageing affect the welfare state?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 554-563, June.
    4. María del Carmen Boado-Penas & Salvador Valdés-Prieto & Carlos Vidal-Meliá, 2008. "The Actuarial Balance Sheet for Pay-As-You-Go Finance: Solvency Indicators for Spain and Sweden," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 29(1), pages 89-134, March.
    5. Rivera-Rozo, J.A. (Jairo) & García-Huitrón, M.E. (Manuel) & Steenbeek, O.W. (Onno) & van der Lecq, S.G. (Fieke), 2018. "National culture and the configuration of public pensions," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 457-479.
    6. Boeri, Tito & Brugiavini, Agar, 2008. "Pension Reforms and Women Retirement Plans," IZA Discussion Papers 3821, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Robert Fenge & Silke Uebelmesser & Martin Werding, 2006. "On the Optimal Timing of Implicit Social Security Taxes Over the Life Cycle," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 62(1), pages 68-107, March.
    8. French, E. & Lindner, A. & O'Dea, C. & Zawisza T., 2022. "Labor Supply and the Pension Contribution-Benefit Link," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2248, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    9. Christian Keuschnigg & Mirela Keuschnigg & Christian Jaag, 2011. "Aging and the Financing of Social Security in Switzerland," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 147(II), pages 181-231, June.
    10. Disney, Richard, 2007. "Population ageing and the size of the welfare state: Is there a puzzle to explain?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 542-553, June.
    11. Keuschnigg, Christian, 2016. "Aging, Taxes and Pensions in Switzerland," Economics Working Paper Series 1601, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    12. Nisticò, Sergio & Bevilacqua, Mirko, 2013. "Notional defined contribution (NDC) pension schemes and income patterns," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 7, pages 1-24.
    13. Dennis Fredriksen & Nils Martin Stølen, 2011. "Norwegian pension reform Defined benefit versus defined contribution," Discussion Papers 669, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    14. Richard Disney, 2006. "Macroeconomic Performance and the Design of Public Pension Programmes," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 37(2), pages 175-195.
    15. Daniela Sonedda & Gilberto Turati, 2005. "Winners and Losers in the Italian Welfare State: A Microsimulation Analysis of Income Redistribution Considering In-Kind Transfers," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 64(4), pages 423-464, December.
    16. Richard Disney, 2005. "Household Saving Rates and the Design of Social Security Programmes: Evidence from a Country Panel," CESifo Working Paper Series 1541, CESifo.
    17. Sergio Nisticò & Mirko Bevilacqua, 2018. "Some Notes On The Redistribution Inherent In The U.S. Public Pension System," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(3), pages 566-581, July.
    18. Kyrre Stensnes & Nils Martin Stølen, 2007. "Pension Reform in Norway. Microsimulating effects on government expenditures, labour supply incentives and benefit distribution," Discussion Papers 524, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    19. Ian Tower & Gregorio Impavido, 2009. "How the Financial Crisis Affects Pensions and Insurance and Why the Impacts Matter," IMF Working Papers 2009/151, International Monetary Fund.
    20. Berger, Johannes & Graf, Nikolaus & Schuh, Ulrich & Strohner, Ludwig, 2015. "Die Entwicklung der Abgabenbelastung von Einkommen im Zeitverlauf," Research Papers 3, EcoAustria – Institute for Economic Research.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pensions; Gender gap; Inequality; Micro simulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • E47 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ssb:dispap:855. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: L Maasø (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ssbgvno.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.