IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/rsi/irersi/18.html

The Labour Market Impacts of Employer-Pension Plans

Author

Listed:
  • Benoit Dostie
  • Todd Morris

Abstract

This paper leverages an original linkage between data from the Pension Plans in Canada (PPIC)—a census of all employer pension plans in Canada—and tax data on employers and employees from the Canadian Employer-Employee Dynamic Database (CEEDD) to examine three interrelated questions. First, how have pension plans and coverage evolved between 2001 and 2020? Second, how much do workers value jobs with pension plans? Third, how do these pensions impact employee mobility? Additionally, we analyze how these effects vary depending on the characteristics of the pension plan, such as defined benefit versus defined contribution plans, profit-sharing arrangements, and other structural differences.

Suggested Citation

  • Benoit Dostie & Todd Morris, 2025. "The Labour Market Impacts of Employer-Pension Plans," Cahiers de recherche / Working Papers 18, Institut sur la retraite et l'épargne / Retirement and Savings Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:rsi:irersi:18
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ire.hec.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/cahier_IRE_18_labour_market_impacts_employer_pension_plans.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gustman, Alan L. & Steinmeier, Thomas L., 1993. "Pension portability and labor mobility : Evidence from the survey of income and program participation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 299-323, March.
    2. Haynes, Jonathan B. & Sessions, John G., 2013. "Work now, pay later? An empirical analysis of the pension–pay trade off," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 835-843.
    3. Alexandre Mas & Amanda Pallais, 2017. "Valuing Alternative Work Arrangements," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(12), pages 3722-3759, December.
    4. Gopi Shah Goda & Damon Jones & Colleen Flaherty Manchester, 2017. "Retirement Plan Type and Employee Mobility: The Role of Selection," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(3), pages 654-679.
    5. Andrew A. Luchak & Tony Fang & Morley Gunderson, 2004. "How Has Public Policy Shaped Defined-Benefit Pension Coverage in Canada?," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 25(3), pages 469-484, July.
    6. Anders Humlum & Mette Rasmussen & Evan K. Rose, 2025. "Firm Premia and Match Effects in Pay vs. Amenities," NBER Working Papers 33884, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Fuchsman, Dillon & McGee, Josh B. & Zamarro, Gema, 2023. "Teachers’ willingness to pay for retirement benefits: A national stated preferences experiment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    8. Krueger, Alan B & Pischke, Jorn-Steffen, 1992. "The Effect of Social Security on Labor Supply: A Cohort Analysis of the Notch Generation," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(4), pages 412-437, October.
    9. Isaac Sorkin, 2018. "Ranking Firms Using Revealed Preference," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(3), pages 1331-1393.
    10. Fang, Tony & Messacar, Derek, 2019. "Voluntary Job Separations and Traditional versus Flexible Workplace Saving Plans: Evidence from Canada," IZA Discussion Papers 12262, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Even, William E & Macpherson, David A, 1990. "The Gender Gap in Pensions and Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(2), pages 259-265, May.
    12. Charles Brown, 1980. "Equalizing Differences in the Labor Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 94(1), pages 113-134.
    13. Maria Donovan Fitzpatrick, 2015. "How Much Are Public School Teachers Willing to Pay for Their Retirement Benefits?," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 7(4), pages 165-188, November.
    14. Alan L. Gustman & Olivia S. Mitchell & Thomas L. Steinmeier, 1994. "The Role of Pensions in the Labor Market: A Survey of the Literature," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 47(3), pages 417-438, April.
    15. Vincenzo Andrietti & Vincent A. Hildebrand, 2016. "Evaluating Pension Portability Reforms: The Tax Reform Act Of 1986 As A Natural Experiment Abstract," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(3), pages 1402-1424, July.
    16. Hutchens, Robert, 1999. "Social Security Benefits and Employer Behavior: Evaluating Social Security Early Retirement Benefits as a Form of Unemployment Insurance," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 40(3), pages 659-678, August.
    17. Staubli, Stefan & Zweimüller, Josef, 2013. "Does raising the early retirement age increase employment of older workers?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 17-32.
    18. Erling Barth & Alex Bryson & James C. Davis & Richard Freeman, 2016. "It's Where You Work: Increases in the Dispersion of Earnings across Establishments and Individuals in the United States," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(S2), pages 67-97.
    19. Leora Friedberg & Anthony Webb, 2005. "Retirement and the Evolution of Pension Structure," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(2).
    20. Olivia S. Mitchell, 1982. "Fringe Benefits and Labor Mobility," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 17(2), pages 286-298.
    21. 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.
    22. Alan L. Gustman & Thomas L. Steinmeier, 1987. "Pensions, Efficiency Wages, and Job Mobility," NBER Working Papers 2426, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Deschacht, Nick & Guillemyn, Inés & Vujic, Suncica, 2025. "Trading Pay for Pensions: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment in the United Kingdom," IZA Discussion Papers 18164, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. 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.
    3. Fang, Tony & Messacar, Derek, 2019. "Voluntary Job Separations and Traditional versus Flexible Workplace Saving Plans: Evidence from Canada," IZA Discussion Papers 12262, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Quinby, Laura D. & Wettstein, Gal, 2021. "Do deferred benefit cuts for current employees increase separation?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Laura D. Quinby, 2020. "Do Deferred Retirement Benefits Retain Government Employees?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(2), pages 469-509, March.
    6. Richard Disney & Carl Emmerson, 2002. "Choice of pension scheme and job mobility in Britain," IFS Working Papers W02/09, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    7. Alexander M. Danzer, 2013. "Benefit Generosity and the Income Effect on Labour Supply: Quasi‐Experimental Evidence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 123, pages 1059-1084, September.
    8. Jonathan Gruber, 1998. "Health Insurance and the Labor Market," NBER Working Papers 6762, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. David Card & Ana Rute Cardoso & Joerg Heining & Patrick Kline, 2018. "Firms and Labor Market Inequality: Evidence and Some Theory," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(S1), pages 13-70.
    10. Leora Friedberg & Michael T. Owyang, 2004. "Explaining the evolution of pension structure and job tenure," Working Papers 2002-022, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    11. Haoran He & David Neumark & Qian Weng, 2021. "Do Workers Value Flexible Jobs? A Field Experiment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(3), pages 709-738.
    12. Johnston, Andrew C., 2021. "Preferences, Selection, and the Structure of Teacher Pay," IZA Discussion Papers 14831, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Haoran He & David Neumark & Qian Weng, 2019. "Do Workers Value Flexible Jobs? A Field Experiment on Compensating Differentials," Natural Field Experiments 00667, The Field Experiments Website.
    14. Lorenz, Svenja & Zwick, Thomas & Bruns, Mona, 2022. "Beware of the employer: Financial incentives for employees may fail to prolong old-age employment," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    15. Harley Frazis & Mark A. Loewenstein, 2009. "How Responsive are Quits to Benefits?," Working Papers 426, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    16. Piera Bello & Vincenzo Galasso, 2020. "Old before their time: the role of employers in retirement decisions," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(5), pages 1198-1223, October.
    17. Johannes Geyer & Clara Welteke, 2017. "Closing Routes to Retirement: How Do People Respond?," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1653, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    18. Anelli, Massimo & Koenig, Felix, 2021. "Willingness to Pay for Workplace Safety," IZA Discussion Papers 14919, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Andrietti, Vincenzo, 2000. "Occupational pension coverage in the European Union. An empirical analysis," ISER Working Paper Series 2000-14, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    20. Tomasz Jedynak, 2022. "Does the Formulation of the Decision Problem Affect Retirement?—Framing Effect and Planned Retirement Age," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-30, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rsi:irersi:18. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Lee Boyle (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ireheca.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.