In die Rente wider Willen?

Older recipients of unemployment benefit II, a means-tested basic income for needy people of working age, have to apply for an old-age pension not at regular pension age, but at the earliest possible time, i.e. even if they qualify for an old-age pension only with deductions (early pension). This stipulation, codified in the Social Law, Book II, is criticised because of the loss of autonomy on the part of the benefit recipients who cannot determine their own social status and for the disincentives it creates for job centres. This paper analyses the consequences of this stipulation for older persons who are recipients of unemployment benefit II. The analysis is based on social insurance data from the German Pension Insurance. Although these data do not contain all relevant information, such as individual preferences about entry into pension, the timing of the fulfillment of all conditions to obtain an (early) pension, and household incomes, they allow us to estimate the numbers of those who start their pension early due to obligatory retirement. The results indicate that pension entry behavior of older recipients of unemployment benefits II would not change fundamentally, if the obligation to retire was abandoned.