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Means Testing of Public Pensions: The Case of Australia

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  • George Kudrna

    (University of New South Wales)

Abstract

The Australian age pension is noncontributory, funded through general tax revenues and means tested against pensioners?private resources, including labour earnings. This paper constructs an overlapping generations (OLG) model of the Australian economy to examine the economy wide implications of several counterfactual experiments in the means testing of the age pension. These experiments include policy changes that both relax and tighten the existing mean test. We also consider a policy change that only exempts labour earnings from the means testing. Our simulation results indicate that tightening the existing means test combined with lower income tax rates leads to higher labour supply, domestic assets and consumption per capita, as well as to welfare gains in the long run, while labour earnings exemptions from the means testing have largely positive e¤ects on labour supply at older ages. Population ageing is shown to further strengthen the case for the pension means testing.

Suggested Citation

  • George Kudrna, 2015. "Means Testing of Public Pensions: The Case of Australia," Working Papers wp338, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    • Handle: RePEc:mrr:papers:wp338
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sagiri Kitao, 2014. "Sustainable Social Security: Four Options," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 17(4), pages 756-779, October.
    2. George Kudrna & Alan D. Woodland, 2011. "Implications of the 2009 Age Pension Reform in Australia: A Dynamic General Equilibrium Analysis," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 87(277), pages 183-201, June.
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    8. Määttänen, Niku & Poutvaara, Panu, 2006. "Should Old-age Benefits Be Earnings-tested," Discussion Papers 1062, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    9. Kudrna, George & Woodland, Alan, 2011. "An inter-temporal general equilibrium analysis of the Australian age pension means test," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 61-79, March.
    10. Fehr, Hans, 2000. " Pension Reform during the Demographic Transition," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 102(3), pages 419-443, June.
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    12. Cho, Sang-Wook (Stanley) & Sane, Renuka, 2013. "Means-Tested Age Pensions And Homeownership: Is There A Link?," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(6), pages 1281-1310, September.
    13. Cagri Seda Kumru & John Piggott, 2010. "Should Public Retirement Pensions Be Means-tested?," DEGIT Conference Papers c015_049, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
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    Cited by:

    1. George Kudrna, 2016. "Australia’s Retirement Income Policy: Means Testing and Taxation of Pensions," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 14(01), pages 03-09, May.
    2. David Ingles & Miranda Stewart, 2017. "Reforming Australia's Superannuation Tax System and the Age Pension to Improve Work and Savings Incentives," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(3), pages 417-436, September.
    3. repec:ces:ifodic:v:14:y:2016:i:1:p:19217532 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. George Kudrna, 2016. "Australia’s Retirement Income Policy: Means Testing and Taxation of Pensions," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 14(1), pages 03-09, 05.

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