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‘Earned, Not Given’? The Effect of Lowering the Full Retirement Age on Retirement Decisions

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  • Mathias Dolls
  • Carla Krolage

Abstract

This paper analyzes behavioral responses to a 2014 reform in the German public pension system that lowered the full retirement age (FRA) of individuals with a long contribution history by up to two years and framed the new FRA as reference age for retirement. Using administrative data from public pension insurance accounts, we first document a substantial bunching response at the FRA exceeding the control group’s bunching by 83%. Second, we show in a difference-in-difference setting that a 1.0 year decrease in the FRA leads to a reduction in the average pension claiming age by 0.3-0.4 years. Treated individuals neither have poorer health nor are more likely to be liquidity-constrained than individuals in the control group. Our results suggest that the strong responses to the reform are driven both by the new FRA serving as a reference point and by financial incentives. Estimated fiscal costs of the reform are at the upper end of the range of previous back-of-the-envelope calculations.

Suggested Citation

  • Mathias Dolls & Carla Krolage, 2023. "‘Earned, Not Given’? The Effect of Lowering the Full Retirement Age on Retirement Decisions," CESifo Working Paper Series 10420, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10420
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    Cited by:

    1. Marian Fink & Christine Mayrhuber & Silvia Rocha-Akis, 2023. "Abgabenbelastung bei Kombination von Pensions- und Erwerbseinkommen," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 96(8), pages 539-551, August.
    2. Sebastian Becker & Annica Gehlen & Johannes Geyer & Peter Haan, 2024. "Income Effects of Disability Benefits," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2098, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Wifo, 2023. "WIFO-Monatsberichte, Heft 8/2023," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 96(8), August.
    4. Emre Oral & Simon Rabaté & Arthur Seibold, 2024. "The Social Multiplier of Pension Reform," CESifo Working Paper Series 10999, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    retirement age; early retirement; pension reform;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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