Retirement Decision of Belgian Couples and the Impact of the Social Security System

Sefane Çetin () and Alain Jousten ()
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Sefane Çetin: UCLouvain, LIDAM/CORE
Alain Jousten: University of Liège, Faculty of Law, Tax Institute, and HEC-Liège

De Economist, 2025, vol. 173, issue 4, No 1, 519-557

Abstract: Abstract This paper examines the retirement patterns of married couples in Belgium. To analyze retirement behavior, we use administrative social security data from 2003 to 2017 in combination with a discrete choice random utility model. We focus in particular on the spousal bonus in pension payments to understand how financial incentives embedded in the structure of the social security system influence the retirement decisions of both partners. We simulate the elimination of the spousal bonus and find that while a small share of women delay their retirement, most shift to alternative social security benefits. Our results do not only highlight the significance of cross-program spillovers between various social security benefits, but also the heterogeneity in preferences for retirement and the asymmetry of retirement behavior between husbands and wives.

Keywords: Old-age labor supply; Retirement incentives; Spousal bonus; Pension reforms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D10 H55 J26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10645-025-09457-7

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