17.09.2015
Excess Early Retirement? Evidence from the Norwegian 2011 Pension Reform
Main event: Lectures "WIFO-Extern"
Persons:
Christian N. Brinch , Ola L. Vestad , Josef Zweimüller
Language: Englisch
Österreichisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung
This paper studies how a major reform of the Norwegian pension system affected the labour supply and pension claiming behaviour of older workers. The 2011 reform brought three major changes: 1. Individuals may start claiming pensions anytime between ages 62 and 75. 2. There are actuarially neutral pension adjustments for early or late claiming. 3. Pension benefits are no longer earnings tested. This policy-mix implies that the decision of claiming pensions becomes fully disentangled from the decision of exiting the labour force. Prior to the reform, only workers covered by a contractual pension scheme (AFP workers) had access to a pension between ages 62 and 67, while workers not eligible for a contractual pension (non-AFP workers) could claim pension benefits only from age 67. Moreover, AFP pension benefits between ages 62 and 67 were earnings-tested and not adjusted for postponed withdrawal. Using a difference-in-differences framework we find that 1. removing the earnings test and introducing actuarial adjustments has large positive effects on employment rates of AFP workers, but a large spike in retirement at age 62 remains; 2. AFP and non-AFP workers are substantially more likely to claim their pension already at age 62; 3. labour supply responses of non-AFP workers occur only along the intensive margin, while their employment rates remain unchanged.