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Inderbitzin, Lukas, Stefan Staubli & Josef Zweimüller (2016): Extended unemployment benefits and early retirement. Program complementarity and program substitution. In: American Economic Journal. Economic Policy, Jg. 8, H. 1, S. 253-288. DOI:10.1257/pol.20130315

Abstract

"We explore how extended unemployment insurance (UI) benefits for older workers affect early retirement and welfare. We argue that extending UI benefits generates program complementarity (more labor market exits and disability benefit take-up in the future) and program substitution (less disability benefit take-up in the present). Exploiting a policy change in Austria, which extended UI benefits to 4 years, we find program complementarity effects for workers aged 50+ and program substitution effects for workers aged 55+. We apply the Baily-Chetty formula for optimal UI to account for complementarity and substitution, showing that UI benefits for older workers were too generous." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lalé, Etienne (2016): Turbulence and the employment experience of older workers. (IZA discussion paper 10061), Bonn, 52 S.

Abstract

"This paper provides a unified account of the trends in unemployment and labor force participation pertaining to the employment experience of older male workers during the past half-century. We build an equilibrium life-cycle model with labor-market frictions and an operative labor supply margin, wherein economic turbulence à la Ljungqvist and Sargent (1998) interact with institutions in ways that deteriorate employment. The model explains simultaneously: (i) the fall in labor force participation in the United States, (ii) the similar but more pronounced decline in Europe alongside rising unemployment rates and (iii) differences across European countries in the role played respectively by unemployment and labor force participation. The model also shows that policies that fostered early retirement may have exacerbated the deterioration of European labor markets: raising early retirement incentives to reduce unemployment among older workers tends to increase unemployment at younger ages, especially in turbulent economic times and under stringent employment protection legislation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Rutledge, Matthew S. (2016): How do financial resources affect the timing of retirement after a job separation? In: ILR review, Jg. 69, H. 5, S. 1249-1279. DOI:10.1177/0019793916654717

Abstract

"This study examines working people between the ages of 50 and 70 years old and the conditions that lead them to decide to retire or not after they experience a job separation. Based on data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, the author finds that among individuals whose jobless spells end in retirement, most decide to retire within a year after separation. The availability of resources such as Social Security retirement benefits, high net worth, and income from defined benefit pensions appear to encourage more rapid labor force exit and retirement, rather than supporting job seekers during a long search. Perhaps surprisingly, no correlation between retirement and the unemployment rate occurs, but unemployment insurance benefits do delay retirement. These results suggest little tolerance for long job searches regardless of labor market prospects and indicate that those who can afford to retire will do so rather quickly." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Beshears, John, James J. Choi, Joshua Hurwitz, David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian (2015): Liquidity in retirement savings systems. An international comparison. In: The American economic review, Jg. 105, H. 5, S. 420-425. DOI:10.1257/aer.p20151004

Abstract

"We compare the liquidity that six developed countries have built into their employer-based defined contribution (DC) retirement schemes. In Germany, Singapore, and the UK, withdrawals are essentially banned no matter what kind of transitory income shock the household realizes. By contrast, in Canada and Australia, liquidity is state-contingent. For a middle-income household, DC accounts are completely illiquid unless annual income falls substantially, in which case DC assets become highly liquid. The US stands alone in the universally high liquidity of its DC system: whether or not income falls, the penalties for early withdrawal are low or non-existent." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Vere, James P. (2011): Social Security and elderly labor supply. Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study. In: Labour economics, Jg. 18, H. 5, S. 676-686. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2011.02.001

Abstract

"This study uses panel data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to estimate the effects of Social Security income on elderly labor supply in the 1990s and early 2000s. The identification strategy takes advantage of the 1977 amendments to the Social Security Act, which led to a large, unanticipated reduction in Social Security benefits for those born after January 1, 1917. Despite the advanced age of the notch cohorts, there is a significant, negative and surprisingly elastic relationship between Social Security income and hours of work. This suggests that currently proposed reductions in benefits would induce Social Security recipients to work more hours in retirement, even through their 70s and early 80s." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Washko, Michelle M., Ronald W. Schack, Barry A. Goff & Bennett Pudlin (2011): Title V of the Older Americans Act, the senior community service employment program. Participant demographics and service to racially/ethnically diverse populations. In: Journal of Aging and Social Policy, Jg. 23, H. 2, S. 182-197. DOI:10.1080/08959420.2011.554081

Abstract

"Title V of the Older Americans Act, the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), is a 40+-year-old federal program providing subsidized community service and employment training to low-income, unemployed individuals aged 55 and older. It is the only nationally mandated workforce training program for seniors. Because of SCSEP's dual mission, participants added 48 million hours of community service (valued at almost $1 billion) to the U.S. economy in 2008. Almost half (48.9%) of the participants are racial or ethnic minorities, which makes it crucial to understand the program experience of these individuals. Participation, program duration, and employment placement of minorities are examined. Findings show successful enrollment rates, an interactive effect of age and education on program duration, and no indication of a minority disadvantage in employment placement. Recommendations include funding for innovative grants, leveraging of federal partnerships, and targeted technical assistance." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cahill, Kevin E., Michael D. Giandrea & Joseph F. Quinn (2010): Employment patterns and determinants among older individuals with a history of short-duration jobs. (BLS working paper 440), Washington, 34 S.

Abstract

"Many studies of labor force withdrawal patterns have focused on individuals who have had career jobs. This paper compares the demographic and economic characteristics of individuals who have never had a full-time career (FTC) job with those who have, and compares the timing and types of job switches that both groups make later in life. The comparison between non-FTC and FTC individuals is important because decisions by policymakers based on the existing retirement literature may have unintended consequences for individuals with only a series of short-duration jobs.
We use a sample of respondents from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) who have worked since age 50, and stratify respondents according to whether an individual has ever had a job that consists of 1,600 or more hours per year and lasts for at least ten years (i.e., a full-time career job). We find that individuals without FTC jobs are a heterogeneous group, representing individuals in many wage and occupational categories. Not surprisingly, we also find that individuals without FTC jobs are less likely than those with FTC jobs to be working in subsequent survey years. However, we find that the labor force withdrawal patterns of non-FTC individuals are similar to those of FTC individuals in many respects. In particular, individuals without FTC jobs change jobs later in life just as frequently as those with FTC jobs. Switching rates between wage-and-salary employment to self-employment and between white-collar and blue-collar jobs are largely similar by FTC status, as are reductions in wages later in life. Overall, the findings reveal that the work decisions later in life of individuals who have never had career employment are diverse, just as they are for individuals with career jobs." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Heywood, John S. & W. Stanley Siebert (2009): Understanding the labour market for older workers. A survey. (IZA discussion paper 4033), Bonn, 27 S.

Abstract

"The paper asks why retirement can be so abrupt in countries such as France ( 1/2% of the workforce over 65), yet staged in Japan (8% over 65). We find part of the answer in tax laws that prevent people working and receiving a pension, and make little allowance for fair pension increases if retirement is deferred. While these laws have begun to change, we find another part of the answer in employment protection laws. These laws coupled with inflexible collectively agreed wages make employers choosy about hiring the old. The advent of 'age discrimination' law reinforces employment protection and may well reduce older workers' hiring opportunities especially where wages are rigid." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Jefferson, Therese (2009): Women and retirement pensions. A research review. In: Feminist economics, Jg. 15, H. 4, S. 115-145. DOI:10.1080/13545700903153963

Abstract

"The links between women's caring work and access to economic resources are particularly critical in the context of widespread public policy debates about retirement and pensions, many of which neglect care as a key issue for analysis. However, among feminist economists it is widely recognized that women's patterns of care provision have adverse implications for their access to economic resources in later life. The feminist economics literature examines many of the interactions between women's caring roles and their access to resources, particularly women's capacity to access economic resources through publicly mandated or regulated pension schemes. This article reviews research that places women's patterns of work and care at the center of analyses of retirement pension policy in an effort to provide a summary of research on gender and pensions policy and to contrast the extent to which differing institutional and policy frameworks accommodate women's caring roles." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Saint-Paul, Gilles (2009): Does the welfare state make older workers unemployable? (IZA discussion paper 4440), Bonn, 48 S.

Abstract

"This paper discusses the specificities of the labor market for older workers. It discusses the implications of those specificities for the effect of labor market institutions on the employability of those workers. It shows that while unemployment benefits indexed backwards and hiring costs are likely to harm these workers more than the average worker, the converse is true for employment protection, provided it is uniform across workers and not specifically higher for older workers. It provides some evidence on the impact of labor market institutions on older workers by comparing their outcome in the United States and France. It discusses how the welfare state can be reformed in order to improve outcomes for older workers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Coile, Courtney C. & Phillip B. Levine (2006): Labor market shocks and retirement. Do government programs matter? (NBER working paper 12559), Cambridge, Mass., 36 S. DOI:10.3386/w12559

Abstract

"This paper examines how unemployment affects retirement and whether the Unemployment Insurance (UI) system and Social Security (SS) system affect how older workers respond to labor market shocks. To do so, we use pooled cross-sectional data from the March Current Population Survey (CPS) as well as March CPS files matched between one year and the next and longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS). We find that downturns in the labor market increase retirement transitions. The magnitude of this effect is comparable to that associated with moderate changes in financial incentives to retire and to the threat of a health shock to which older workers are exposed. Interestingly, retirements only increase in response to an economic downturn once workers become SS-eligible, suggesting that retirement benefits may help alleviate the income loss associated with a weak labor market. We also estimate the impact of UI generosity on retirement and find little consistent evidence of an effect. This suggests that in some ways SS may serve as a more effective form of unemployment insurance for older workers than UI." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lahey, Joanna (2006): State age protection laws and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. (NBER working paper 12048), Cambridge, Mass., 35 S. DOI:10.3386/w12048

Abstract

"Some anti-discrimination laws have the perverse effect of harming the very class they were meant to protect. This paper provides evidence that age discrimination laws belong to this perverse class. Prior to the enforcement of the federal law, state laws had little effect on older workers, suggesting that firms either knew little about these laws or did not see them as a threat. After the enforcement of the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) in 1979, white male workers over the age of 50 in states with age discrimination laws worked between 1 and 1.5 fewer weeks per year than workers in states without laws. These men are also .3 percentage points more likely to be retired and .2 percentage points less likely to be hired. These findings suggest that in an anti-age discrimination environment, firms seek to avoid litigation through means not intended by the legislation - by not employing older workers in the first place." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Macnicol, John (2006): Age discrimination. An historical and contemporary analysis. Cambridge u.a.: Cambridge University Press, 308 S. DOI:10.2277/0521612608

Abstract

"Age discrimination is a highly topical issue in all industrialised societies, against a background of concerns about shortening working lives and ageing populations in the future. Based upon detailed research, and adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this unique study traces the history of the age discrimination debate in Britain and the USA since the 1930s. It critically analyses the concepts of ageism in social relations and age discrimination in employment. Case-studies on generational equity and health care rationing by age are followed by an analysis of the British government's initiatives against age discrimination in employment. The book then traces the history of the debate on health status and old age, addressing the question of whether working capacity has improved sufficiently to justify calls to delay retirement and extend working lives. It concludes with a detailed examination of the origins and subsequent working of the USA's 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"Germany currently finds itself amidst profound demographic change. The tasks of the future workplace will fall on the shoulders of a smaller and older potential workforce. The 2006 Carl Bertelsmann Prize for Active Aging in Economy and Society is founded on the belief that combining growth and innovation with a high employment rate while preserving social cohesion can only succeed if we foster and utilize the employment potential of every individual. In view of demographic changes, we need to preserve the value-generating potential, skills and experience of older people in particular for our economy and society, and promote their (re)integration into the workplace. In light of high unemployment levels among seniors - and not just in Germany - keeping older people in the workforce longer will demand integrated efforts in various social sectors and on various social levels. This publication presents and discusses challenges, perspectives and strategies that could be very significant as elements of a comprehensive strategy for active aging in Germany." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cornetz, Wolfgang & Holger Schäfer (2005): Bessere Beschäftigungschancen für Ältere mit wachsender Bedeutung der Dienstleistungen? Ein deutsch-amerikanischer Vergleich. In: G. Huber, H. Krämer & H. D. Kurz (Hrsg.) (2005): Einkommensverteilung, technischer Fortschritt und struktureller Wandel : Festschrift für Peter Kalmbach, S. 403-424.

Abstract

Die Bedeutung und die Folgen des demografischen Wandels für Ökonomie und Arbeitsmarkt werden untersucht. Dabei wird gefragt, wie sich das Altern der Gesellschaft auf Wachstumsprozess und Arbeitsmarkt auswirkt, aber auch umgekehrt, welche Bedeutung die voraussichtliche Entwicklung der Wirtschaftsstruktur für die Arbeitsmarktchancen älterer Menschen hat. An Hand einer OECD-Studie von 2003 wird die Beschäftigungssituation der 55- bis 64-Jährigen in zehn OECD-Staaten vergleichend betrachtet. Die Risiken einer alternden Bevölkerung und die grundsätzlichen Bestimmungsgründe der Erwerbsbeteiligung älterer Arbeitnehmer werden herausgearbeitet. Dabei wird die jugendzentrierte Personalpolitik in Deutschland kritisiert, während gleichzeitig die Defizit-Hypothese des Alterns nicht belegt werden kann. Vor diesem Hintergrund wird der Strukturwandel unter den älteren Erwerbstätigen seit den 1990er Jahren im deutsch-amerikanischen Vergleich untersucht. Insgesamt besteht ein prinzipiell positiver Zusammenhang zwischen dem Umfang von Dienstleistungstätigkeiten und dem Beschäftigungsgrad Älterer, wie er in den USA bereits sichtbar wird. Er kann durch zielgerichtete politische und betriebliche Maßnahmen verstärkt werden. (IAB)

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Green, Carole A. (2005): Race, ethnicity, and social security retirement age in the US. In: Feminist economics, Jg. 11, H. 2, S. 117-143. DOI:10.1080/13545700500115969

Abstract

"This study uses the AHEAD survey to examine the effects of increasing the Social Security retirement age in the United States by modeling the labor force participation decisions of men and women over the age of 65. Separate probit analyses by gender with interaction terms indicate that race/ethnicity is only marginally important in these decisions after controlling for key factors such as health, physical and mental disabilities, education, and nonlabor income. However, detailed examination reveals highly significant differences by race and ethnicity in all of these critical factors, as well as in the distribution of previous occupations. Although elderly blacks and Hispanics have greater financial need than whites, they have significantly less ability to continue working for pay. Thus, seemingly race- and ethnicity-neutral policies such as increasing the full Social Security retirement age may have disproportionate negative effects on elderly members of minority groups in the US." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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(2005): Ageing and employment policies. United States. (Ageing and employment policies), Paris, 193 S. DOI:10.1787/9789264009608-en

Abstract

"In some respects, the United States is better placed than many other OECD countries to cope with population ageing. First, its population is projected to age less rapidly over the next half century than in most OECD countries. Second public expenditure an old-age pensions is quite low by OECD standards and is expected to increase only modestly over the next half century relative to GDP. Third, labour market outcomes for older people in the United States are generally better than in many OECD countries. For instance, over two-thirds of all Americans aged 50-64 are working - which places the United States in the top third of OECD countries - and, while only about one-fifth of Americans aged 65-74 are working, this is still well above the OECD average. And, last but not least, life expectancy and health outcomes more generally are expected to continue to improve over the coming decades, opening up greater opportunities for older Americans to both extend their working lives and enjoy more years of retirement." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Adams, Scott J. (2004): Age discrimination legislation and the employment of older workers. In: Labour economics, Jg. 11, H. 2, S. 219-241. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2003.06.001

Abstract

"Using state variation in age discrimination legislation from the 1960s, I present estimates that imply laws increase employment among individuals in protected age ranges. Among older workers that are above age ranges covered by laws, however, employment declines. Estimates also show that there is a decrease in retirement among the protected workers. On the other hand, no evidence is presented that suggests older workers are more likely to be hired as a result of the legislation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Even, William E. & David A. Macpherson (2004): Do pensions impede phased retirement? (IZA discussion paper 1353), Bonn, 37 S.

Abstract

"Many workers reveal a preference for a gradual reduction in work hours as they approach retirement ('phased retirement'), rather than a sudden change from full-time work to full-time retirement. Pension regulations may impede phased retirement without a switch of employers by prohibiting access to pension assets. This study uses Health and Retirement Survey data to investigate the extent to which a gradual reduction in work hours is made difficult by pensions, particularly defined benefit plans. The study also explores other possible impediments to phased retirement." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Funk, Lothar (2004): Mehr Beschäftigung für Ältere. Lehren aus dem Ausland. (IW-Positionen 08), Köln, S. 1-64.

Abstract

"Von 100 Einwohnern im Alter von 55 bis 64 Jahren waren in Deutschland im Jahr 2002 nur noch 38,4 Prozent beschäftigt. Das sind deutlich weniger als vor dreißig Jahren, als noch fast 50 Prozent erwerbstätig waren. Die Entwicklung in einer Reihe von Ländern zeigt, dass es möglich ist, höhere Erwerbstätigenquoten Älterer zu erreichen. Ausgehend von einem teilweise ähnlich geringen Niveau wie in Deutschland steigerten sie in wenigen Jahren die Erwerbstätigkeit Älterer erheblich. Hieraus lassen sich wesentliche Bedingungen für mehr Beschäftigung Älterer ableiten: Erstens könnten die Rentensysteme so gestaltet werden, dass ein vorzeitiges Ausscheiden aus dem Erwerbsleben weniger leicht und finanziell unattraktiv für Arbeitnehmer und Arbeitgeber ist. Zweitens verhilft ein geringer Regelungsgrad bei den Arbeitsverhältnissen zu einer hohen Erwerbstätigkeit aller und vor allem auch Älterer. Drittens würden höhere Investitionen in das vorhandene Humankapital auch über das 45. Lebensjahr hinaus erheblich dazu beitragen, die Beschäftigungsfähigkeit Älterer zu verbessern." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)