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The Effect of Increasing Retirement Age on Households’ Savings and Consumption Expenditures

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  • Stefan Etgeton
  • Björn Fischer
  • Han Ye

Abstract

This paper examines how households adjust their savings and consumption expenditure in response to an anticipated increase in the early retirement age (ERA). We examine the 1999 pension reform in Germany, which increased the ERA for women born after 1951 by at least three years. First, we present suggestive evidence that women update their retirement planning in response to the reform. Using the German Income and Consumption Survey, we find a negative impact on private savings of 0.6 percentage points that is driven by households with married women. We show that households consisting of highly educated women and homeowners are more likely to reduce their savings rates. Furthermore, we find that the treated households increase their leisure spending while maintaining an unchanged level of disposable income. Our findings suggest that the households anticipate experiencing a lifetime income increase and reduce their savings rate to smooth consumption.

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  • Stefan Etgeton & Björn Fischer & Han Ye, 2023. "The Effect of Increasing Retirement Age on Households’ Savings and Consumption Expenditures," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2023_255v3, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2023_255v3
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    Cited by:

    1. Todd Morris & Benoit Dostie, 2023. "Graying and staying on the job: The welfare implications of employment protection for older workers," Cahiers de recherche / Working Papers 15, Institut sur la retraite et l'épargne / Retirement and Savings Institute.
    2. Korfhage, Thorben & Fischer-Weckemann, Björn, 2024. "Long-run consequences of informal elderly care and implications of public long-term care insurance," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    3. Barschkett, Mara & Geyer, Johannes & Haan, Peter & Hammerschmid, Anna, 2022. "The effects of an increase in the retirement age on health — Evidence from administrative data," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    4. Johan Saeverud, 2024. "The Impact Of Social Security Eligibility And Pension Wealth On Retirement," CEBI working paper series 24-05, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pension Reform; Early Retirement Age; Savings; Pension Wealth; Consumption Expenditur;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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