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Retirement and the Evolution of Pension Structure

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Author Info
Leora Friedberg
Anthony Webb
Abstract

Defined benefit pension plans have become considerably less common since the early 1980s, while defined contribution plans have spread. Previous research showed that defined benefit plans, with sharp incentives encouraging retirement after a certain point, contributed to the striking postwar decline in American retirement ages. In this paper we find that the absence of age-related incentives in defined contribution plans leads workers to retire almost two years later on average, compared to workers with defined benefit plans. Thus, the evolution of pension structure can help explain recent increases in employment among people in their 60s, after decades of decline.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 9999.

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Date of creation: Sep 2003
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9999

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped
J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Leora Friedberg, 2003. "The impact of technological change on older workers: Evidence from data on computer use," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 56(3), pages 511-529, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Leora Friedberg & Michael Owyang, 2004. "Explaining the Evolution of Pension Structure and Job Tenure," NBER Working Papers 10714, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Courtney Coile & Jonathan Gruber, 2000. "Social Security Incentives for Retirement," NBER Working Papers 7651, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Engen, Eric M & Gale, William G & Scholz, John Karl, 1996. "The Illusory Effects of Saving Incentives on Saving," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 113-38, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Charles Brown, 2002. "Early Retirement Windows," Working Papers wp028, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Randall Filer & Marjorie Honig, 2005. "Endogenous Pensions and Retirement Behavior," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Leora Freidberg & Michael T. Owyang, 2002. "Not your father's pension plan: the rise of 401K and other defined contribution plans," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Jan., pages 23-34. [Downloadable!]
  8. Jeffrey R. Brown & Olivia S. Mitchell & James M. Poterba & Mark J. Warshawsky, 1999. "Taxing Retirement Income: Nonqualified Annuities and Distributions from Qualified Accounts," NBER Working Papers 7268, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. David Neumark, 2008. "The Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Challenge of Population Aging," NBER Working Papers 14317, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. P.J.A. van Els & W.A. van den End & M.C.J. van Rooij, 2003. "Pensions and public opinion: a survey among dutch households," WO Research Memoranda (discontinued) 752, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Fred Robert-Nicoud (University of Geneva) & Niko Matouschek & Paolo Ramezzana (University of Virginia), 2004. "Labor Market Frictions, Job Insecurity and the Flexibility of the Employment Relationship," Econometric Society 2004 Australasian Meetings 52, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Alan L. Gustman & Thomas Steinmeier, 2007. "Projecting Behavioral Responses to the Next Generation of Retirement Policies," NBER Working Papers 12958, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Karen Leppel, 2005. "Labor force plans and labor force status," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 12(8), pages 173-196, April. [Downloadable!]
  6. Leora Friedberg & Michael T. Owyang & Tara M. Sinclair, 2005. "Searching for Better Prospects: Endogenizing Falling Job Tenure and Private Pension Coverage," NBER Working Papers 11808, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Barbara A. Butrica & Richard W. Johnson & Karen E. Smith & Eugene Steuerle, 2004. "Does Work Pay at Older Ages?," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College 2004-30, Center for Retirement Research. [Downloadable!]
  8. Jeff Borland, 2005. "Transitions to Retirement: A Review," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2005n03, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
  9. Alan Gustman & Thomas Steinmeier, 2007. "Projecting Behavioral Responses to the Next Generation of Retirement Policies," Working Papers wp153, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
  10. David E. Bloom & David Canning & Michael Moore, 2004. "The Effect of Improvements in Health and Longevity on Optimal Retirement and Saving," NBER Working Papers 10919, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Niko Matouschek & Paolo Ramezzana, 2004. "Labor Market Frictions, Job Insecurity, and the Flexibility of the Employment Relationship," Econometric Society 2004 North American Summer Meetings 28, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
  12. Courtney Coile & Phillip B. Levine, 2009. "The Market Crash and Mass Layoffs: How the Current Economic Crisis May Affect Retirement," NBER Working Papers 15395, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Irena Dushi & Anthony Webb, 2004. "Annuitization: Keeping Your Options Open," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College 2004-04, Center for Retirement Research. [Downloadable!]
  14. Courtney C. Coile & Phillip B. Levine, 2004. "Bulls, Bears, and Retirement Behavior," NBER Working Papers 10779, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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