The timing of retirement — New evidence from Swiss female workers

Barbara Hanel and Regina Riphahn
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Barbara Broadway ()

Labour Economics, 2012, vol. 19, issue 5, 718-728

Abstract: We investigate the responsiveness of individual retirement decisions to changes in financial incentives. A reform increased women's normal retirement age (NRA) in two steps from age 62 to age 63 first and then to age 64. At the same time retirement at the previous NRA became possible at a benefit discount. Since the reform affected specific birth cohorts we can identify causal effects. We find strong and robust behavioral effects of changes in financial retirement incentives. A permanent reduction of retirement benefits by 3.4% induces a decline in the age-specific annual retirement probability by over 50%. The response to changes in financial retirement benefits varies with educational background: those with low education respond most strongly to an increase in the price of leisure.

Keywords: Retirement insurance; Incentives; Social security; Labor force exit; Natural experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H55 J14 J26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (43)

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Working Paper: The Timing of Retirement - New Evidence from Swiss Female Workers (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:labeco:v:19:y:2012:i:5:p:718-728

DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2012.05.013

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