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Socioeconomic inequalities in survival to retirement age or shortly afterwards: a register-based analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Strozza, Cosmo

    (University of Southern Denmark)

  • Vigezzi, Serena
  • Callaway, Julia

    (University of Southern Denmark)

  • Kashnitsky, Ilya

    (University of Southern Denmark)

  • Aleksandrovs, Aleksandrs
  • Vaupel, James W

Abstract

Larger numbers of people are living to retirement and old age, posing a threat to the financing of the welfare state. In Denmark, statutory retirement age is increasing gradually to account for changes in life expectancy. However, the chances of reaching retirement age are not equal across the population, and raising the retirement age could disproportionally affect those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. In this paper, we investigate socioeconomic inequalities in mortality before retirement age or shortly thereafter in Denmark. We use Danish registry data over a 30-year period, focusing on individuals aged 50 to 70. We perform sex-specific survival analyses across socioeconomic groups using three measures of socioeconomic status: education, income, and occupation. We observe an increase in survival inequalities over time between the lowest and highest socioeconomic groups for each measure. The reason for the widening gap lies in minimal mortality improvements in the lowest socioeconomic group. These results are complemented by lifespan inequality measures, which have the same mortality trends. We show that individual level variability in socioeconomic characteristics play a crucial role in defining the survival chances just before and shortly after retirement and thus should be accounted for in designing retirement policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Strozza, Cosmo & Vigezzi, Serena & Callaway, Julia & Kashnitsky, Ilya & Aleksandrovs, Aleksandrs & Vaupel, James W, 2022. "Socioeconomic inequalities in survival to retirement age or shortly afterwards: a register-based analysis," OSF Preprints 8wbdv, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:8wbdv
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/8wbdv
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alvarez, Jesús-Adrián & Kallestrup-Lamb, Malene & Kjærgaard, Søren, 2021. "Linking retirement age to life expectancy does not lessen the demographic implications of unequal lifespans," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 363-375.
    2. repec:ces:ifodic:v:13:y:2015:i:2:p:19166293 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Ayuso, Mercedes & Bravo, Jorge M. & Holzmann, Robert, 2021. "Getting life expectancy estimates right for pension policy: period versus cohort approach," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(2), pages 212-231, April.
    4. Torben M. Andersen, 2015. "Robustness of the Danish Pension System," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(02), pages 25-30, August.
    5. Cairns, Andrew J.G. & Kallestrup-Lamb, Malene & Rosenskjold, Carsten & Blake, David & Dowd, Kevin, 2019. "Modelling Socio-Economic Differences In Mortality Using A New Affluence Index," ASTIN Bulletin, Cambridge University Press, vol. 49(3), pages 555-590, September.
    6. Torben M. Andersen, 2015. "Robustness of the Danish Pension System," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(2), pages 25-30, 08.
    7. Jesús-Adrián Álvarez & Malene Kallestrup-Lamb & Søren Kjærgaard, 2020. "Linking retirement age to life expectancy does not lessen the demographic implications of unequal lifespans," CREATES Research Papers 2020-17, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jan L. M. Dhaene & Moshe A. Milevsky, 2024. "Egalitarian pooling and sharing of longevity risk', a.k.a. 'The many ways to skin a tontine cat," Papers 2402.00855, arXiv.org.
    2. Cosmo Strozza & Graziella Caselli & Viviana Egidi & Maria Rita Testa, 2024. "Ageing and diversity: Inequalities in longevity and health in low-mortality countries," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 50(12), pages 347-376.
    3. Serena Vigezzi & Cosmo Strozza, 2024. "Differences in mortality before retirement: The role of living arrangements and marital status in Denmark," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 50(20), pages 515-546.
    4. Julia Callaway & Cosmo Strozza & Eleonora Mussino & Sven Drefahl & Ilya Kashnitsky, 2024. "Mortality inequalities at retirement age between migrants and non-migrants in Denmark and Sweden," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 50(18), pages 473-502.

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