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Employee Retirement and a Firm's Pension Plan

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  • Laurence J. Kotlikoff
  • David A. Wise

Abstract

The provisions of the pension plan in a large corporation are described in detail. The implications of the provisions are indicated by pension accrual profiles. These profiles are set forth, together with standard age-earnings and Social Security accrual profiles, in the form of life-time budget constraints. The plan provided very strong incentives to retire beginning at age 55. After age 65, negative pension and negative Social Security accruals effectively impose almost a 100 percent tax rate on wage earnings for many employees of the firm. Departure rates from the firm are compared with economic incentives inherent in the plan provisions. The inducements in the plan provisions to retire early have had a very substantial effect on departure rates from the firm. Over 50 percent of those employed by the firm at age 50 leave before 60 and 90 percent before age 65. The jumps in departure rates at specific ages coincide precisely with the discontinuities and kink points in the worker compensation profiles that result from the pension plan provisions together with wage earnings profiles and Social Security accrual.

Suggested Citation

  • Laurence J. Kotlikoff & David A. Wise, 1987. "Employee Retirement and a Firm's Pension Plan," NBER Working Papers 2323, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:2323
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wise, David A., 1985. "Pensions, Labor, and Individual Choice," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226902937, December.
    2. Michael D. Hurd & Michael J. Boskin, 1984. "The Effect of Social Security on Retirement in the Early 1970s," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 99(4), pages 767-790.
    3. Laurence J. Kotlikoff & David A. Wise, 1985. "Labor Compensation and the Structure of Private Pension Plans: Evidence for Contractual versus Spot Labor Markets," NBER Chapters, in: Pensions, Labor, and Individual Choice, pages 55-88, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    5. David A. Wise, 1985. "Pensions, Labor, and Individual Choice," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number wise85-1, July.
    6. Gary Burtless, 1986. "Social Security, Unanticipated Benefit Increases, and the Timing of Retirement," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 53(5), pages 781-805.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bairoliya, Neha, 2019. "Pension plan heterogeneity and retirement behavior," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 28-59.
    2. Schneider, Lutz, 2007. "Mit 55 zum alten Eisen? : eine Analyse des Alterseinflusses auf die Produktivität anhand des LIAB (Dispensable at 55? : analyzing the impact of age on productivity using the LIAB dataset)," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 40(1), pages 77-97.
    3. James M. Poterba & Steven F. Venti, 2004. "The Transition to Personal Accounts and Increasing Retirement Wealth: Macro- and Microevidence," NBER Chapters, in: Perspectives on the Economics of Aging, pages 17-80, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Börsch-Supan, Axel & Weiss, Matthias, 2016. "Productivity and age: Evidence from work teams at the assembly line," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 7(C), pages 30-42.
    5. Börsch-Supan Axel & Ludwig Alexander, 2009. "Living Standards in an Aging Germany: The Benefits of Reforms and the Costs of Resistance," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 229(2-3), pages 163-179, April.
    6. Börsch-Supan, Axel, 2002. "Labor market effects of population aging," MEA discussion paper series 02011, Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy.
    7. Robert L. Clark & Joseph F. Quinn, 1999. "Effects of Pensions on Labor Markets and Retirement," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 431, Boston College Department of Economics.
    8. Stock, James H & Wise, David A, 1990. "Pensions, the Option Value of Work, and Retirement," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(5), pages 1151-1180, September.
    9. Maennig Wolfgang & Stobernack Michael, 2011. "Do men slow down faster than women?," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 62(3), pages 263-278, December.
    10. Blundell, R. & French, E. & Tetlow, G., 2016. "Retirement Incentives and Labor Supply," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 457-566, Elsevier.
    11. Schneider, Lutz, 2007. "Mit 55 zum alten Eisen? : eine Analyse des Alterseinflusses auf die Produktivität anhand des LIAB (Dispensable at 55? : analyzing the impact of age on productivity using the LIAB dataset)," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 40(1), pages 77-97.
    12. Pierre-Carl Michaud & Susann Rohwedder, 2008. "Forecasting Labor Force Participation and Economic Resources of the Early Baby Boomers," Working Papers wp175, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    13. Biehl, Kai & Fent, Thomas, 2007. "Vorausschätzungen für die Entwicklung der Gesamtbevölkerung und der Beschäftigung in Österreich bis 2035 [Projections of the Development of Population and Employment in Austria until 2035]," MPRA Paper 2877, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Schneider, Lutz, 2006. "Sind ältere Beschäftigte weniger produktiv? Eine empirische Analyse anhand des LIAB," IWH Discussion Papers 13/2006, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    15. Anna M. Caristo, 2015. "Incentivos al trabajo y cobertura de riesgos de los programas de pensiones: el caso de Uruguay," Económica, Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, vol. 61, pages 81-126, January-D.
    16. Robin L. Lumsdaine & David A. Wise, 1994. "Aging and Labor Force Participation: A Review of Trends and Explanations," NBER Chapters, in: Aging in the United States and Japan: Economic Trends, pages 7-42, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Lumsdaine, Robin L. & Stock, James H. & Wise, David A., 1990. "Efficient windows and labor force reduction," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 131-159, November.
    18. Michael D. Hurd, 1993. "The Effect of Labor Market Rigidities on the Labor Force Behavior of Older Workers," NBER Working Papers 4462, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Samwick, Andrew A., 1998. "New evidence on pensions, social security, and the timing of retirement," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 207-236, November.
    20. Alan L. Gustman & Olivia S. Mitchell, 1990. "Pensions and the U.S. Labor Market," NBER Working Papers 3331, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Andrea Kunnert & Oliver Fritz & Dieter Pennerstorfer & Gerhard Streicher & Birgit Aigner & Thomas Döring, 2010. "Teilbericht 3: Alterung und regionale Wettbewerbsfähigkeit," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 41128, April.
    22. Martin Werding, 2008. "Ageing and Productivity Growth: Are there Macro-level Cohort Effects of Human Capital?," CESifo Working Paper Series 2207, CESifo.
    23. Axel Boersch-Supan, 2001. "Labor Market Effects of Population Aging," NBER Working Papers 8640, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Börsch-Supan, Axel, 2013. "Myths, scientific evidence and economic policy in an aging world," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 1, pages 3-15.

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