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Understanding joint retirement

Author

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  • Michaud, Pierre-Carl
  • Van Soest, Arthur
  • Bissonnette, Luc

Abstract

Evidence from different sources shows that spouses’ retirement decisions are correlated. Retirement policies affecting individuals in couples are therefore also likely to affect behavior of their spouses. It is therefore important to account for joint features in modeling retirement. This paper studies a structural collective model of labor supply and retirement of both partners in a couple with interdependent preferences, imperfect knowledge of preferences of the spouse, and subjective expectations about the future. We propose a novel method to estimate preferences and the intra-household bargaining process, which relies on stated preferences data collected in the Health and Retirement Study. Respondents were asked to choose between hypothetical retirement trajectories describing the retirement ages and replacement rates of both spouses from three perspectives: considering their own preferences only, the preferences of their spouse only, or the most likely decision for the household. With these data, all model parameters are identified and potential sources of joint retirement can be disentangled. Our results suggest that males misperceive their wives’ preferences, overestimating their disutility of work. Our estimates correct for this. We find strong positive correlations between preferences for joint leisure (leisure complementarity) of the two partners. Counterfactual simulations with stylized retirement paths suggest that the leisure complementarities explain a substantial part of joint retirement, much more than correlation in unobserved heterogeneity or potential wage rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Michaud, Pierre-Carl & Van Soest, Arthur & Bissonnette, Luc, 2020. "Understanding joint retirement," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 386-401.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:173:y:2020:i:c:p:386-401
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2019.07.013
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    7. García-Miralles, Esteban & Leganza, Jonathan M., 2024. "Joint retirement of couples: Evidence from discontinuities in Denmark," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    8. Mongoljin Batsaikhan & Mette Goertz & John Kennes & Ran Sun Lyng & Daniel Monte & Norovsambuu Tumennasan, 2021. "Discrimination and Daycare Choice: Evidence from a Randomized Survey," CEBI working paper series 19-14, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).
    9. Mongoljin Batsaikhan & Mette Gørtz & John Kennes & Ran Sun Lyng & Daniel Monte & Norovsambuu Tumennasan, 2019. "Daycare Choice and Ethnic Diversity: Evidence from a Randomized Survey," Economics Working Papers 2019-02, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    10. Zhu, Rong, 2021. "Retirement and voluntary work provision: Evidence from the Australian Age Pension reform," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 674-690.
    11. Vandenberghe, Vincent, 2021. "Work Beyond the Age of 50. What Role for Mental v.s. Physical Health?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 796, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    12. Bonsang, Eric & Costa-Font, Joan, 2020. "Behavioral regularities in old age planning," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 297-300.
    13. Bonekamp, Johan & van Soest, Arthur, 2022. "Evidence of behavioural life-cycle features in spending patterns after retirement," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    14. Manuel Ventura-Marco & Carlos Vidal-Meliá & Juan Manuel Pérez-Salamero González, 2022. "Life care annuities to help couples cope with the cost of long-term care," Documentos de Trabajo del ICAE 2022-03, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Instituto Complutense de Análisis Económico.
    15. Sefane Cetin, 2021. "Joint Retirement: Evidence on the Heterogeneity of Spousal Effects," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2021031, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    16. Nagore García, Amparo & van Soest, Arthur, 2022. "Joint retirement behaviour and pension reform in the Netherlands," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    17. David Boto-García & Petr Mariel, 2024. "How well do couples know their partners’ preferences? Experimental evidence from joint recreation," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 41(3), pages 657-686, October.
    18. Alonso-García, Jennifer & Bateman, Hazel & Bonekamp, Johan & van Soest, Arthur & Stevens, Ralph, 2022. "Saving preferences after retirement," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 409-433.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Collective models; Leisure complementarity; Stated choices; Identification;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access

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