Wie hat sich die intragenerationale Umverteilung in der staatlichen Säule des Rentensystems verändert? / Has Intragenerational Redistribution Become Less Important in Pension Systems’ Public Pillar?

Abstract

Summary We empirically investigate whether the significance of intragenerational redistribution in the public pillar of pension systems in 20 OECD countries has changed systematically since the 1980s and whether international convergence of the degree of intragenerational redistribution can be observed. Intragenerational redistribution is measured by the Bismarckian factor which provides information about the relative importance of the earnings-benefit link in the pension formula (as compared to a flat-benefit Beveridgean pension system). Based on micro data from the Luxembourg Income Study, we find both, a trend towards (more Bismarckian) pension systems which obey the principle of participation equivalence and an international convergence of pension systems. The reduced variation of pension systems (sigma convergence) is driven by countries with a high degree of intragenerational redistribution catching up with more traditional Bismarckian countries (beta convergence). Both, fundamental pension reforms as Sweden’s and Italy’s move to „notional defined contribution‘‘ systems, and parametric reforms ranging from the removal of group-specific benefits to alternative calculations of contribution history, such as changing from „best years‘‘ to the entire worklife, underlie this development.