Retirement In France Research Articles

Conditions of existence and subjective perceptions of retirement: quantitative evidence from France

AbstractThis article explores subjective perceptions of retirement in France, using original quantitative data on the customers of a not-for-profit insurance company. The sample contains individuals aged 40–84, who are either in the labour force (N = 923) or retired (N = 705). Perceptions of retirement are measured using closed questions on views of the retirement transition (these views can be positive, negative or neutral) and definitions of retirement (retirement can be interpreted as a period of freedom, boredom, greater risk of precariousness, etc.). Using a number of different social indicators, we examine whether differences in social conditions translate into heterogeneous perceptions. We also investigate whether social differences in perceptions fade away with increasing age. Both working-age individuals and retirees generally have a positive view of the retirement transition and often define retirement as a period of freedom. Perceptions of retirement are shaped by social conditions: a higher level of education and income, greater wealth, better health and stronger social involvement go hand in hand with rosier perceptions. Moreover, we uncover a strengthening of this social gradient with increasing age. Finally, perceptions are positively correlated with satisfaction in various domains, for retirees.

Covid-19 Epidemic in Italy: Lesson Learning

In 2019, Europe was focused on various social, economic and political issues, as welcoming or not migrants, or contesting legal reforms as on retirement in France, or fight against unemployment. In December, first news arrived from China reporting the emergence of a new zoonoses, a novel Coronavirus of animal origin.

Changes in food purchases at retirement in France

We estimate the impact of retirement on food expenditure and food quantities purchased, using detailed home-scan panel data on food purchases and household characteristics in France. We identify a causal relationship by exploiting the French legal minimum age for retirement as an exogenous shock to retirement behavior. Upon retirement, households significantly decrease their expenditure on food and the amount of food purchased. Households with lower pre-retirement income appear to be more severely affected. Our results indicate that the decrease in food quantities purchased at the aggregate level is driven by a decline in purchases of food from animal origins. A reduced consumption of animal based food products is likely to undermine the diet balance of retirees.

Structural Changes in the Labor Market and the Rise of Early Retirement in France and Germany

AbstractThe rise of early retirement in Europe is typically attributed to the European system of taxes and transfers. A model with an imperfectly competitive labor market allows us to consider also the effects of bargaining power and of matching efficiency on pre-retirement. We find that lower bargaining power of workers and declining matching efficiency have been important determinants of early retirement in France and Germany. These structural changes, combined with early retirement transfers and population aging, are also consistent with the employment and unemployment rates, labor share and seniority premia.

Can I stay or should I go? Mandatory retirement and the labor-force participation of older workers

Retirement is commonly described as a pure labor-supply decision, despite the potential importance of the demand side. This partly reflects that the two dimensions are often difficult to disentangle. I here manage to overcome this difficulty by using a unique natural experiment, the progressive ban on mandatory retirement in France in the 2000s. Drawing on an extensive administrative dataset, I use reform-induced inter-industry variations in mandatory retirement legislation, thereby separating this factor from other retirement determinants, such as financial incentives. I find that the demand-side determinants through mandatory retirement do affect retirement patterns: the exit rates from employment are estimated to be 10% higher when mandatory retirement is possible. This effect is mostly driven by individuals with high earnings, steep wage profiles and good health. Second, as the mandatory retirement age coincides with the full-rate age, I reveal a previously unexamined determinant of the bunching in retirement distribution at this age. Mandatory retirement is estimated to explain 12% of the observed spike at the full rate.

Conditions of Existence and Subjective Perceptions of Retirement: Quantitative Evidence from France

This article explores subjective perceptions of retirement in France, using original quantitative data on the customers of a not-for-profit insurance company. The sample contains individuals aged 40-84, who are either in the labour force (N=923) or retired (N=705). Perceptions of retirement are measured using closed questions on views of the retirement transition (these views can be positive, negative, or neutral) and definitions of retirement (retirement can be interpreted as a period of freedom, boredom, greater risk of precariousness, etc.). Using a number of different social indicators, we examine whether differences in social conditions translate into heterogeneous perceptions. We also investigate whether social differences in perceptions fade away with increasing age. Both working-age individuals and retirees generally have a positive view of the retirement transition and often define retirement as a period of freedom. Perceptions of retirement are shaped by social conditions: a higher level of education and income, greater wealth, better health, and stronger social involvement go hand in hand with rosier perceptions. Moreover, we uncover a strengthening of this social gradient with increasing age. Finally, perceptions are positively correlated with satisfaction in various domains, for retirees.

Gustave Hannezo (1857-1922) et l’archéologie tunisienne

In addition to his military professional duties, from soldier to officer, Gustave Hannezo (1857-1822), developed in Tunisia, from 1886 to 1909, a considerable archaeological activity, rich in excavations, epigraphic reports, and various artifacts, above all in Punic and Roman necropolises of Sousse, where was his main garrison. In the honor hall of his regiment, he installed a Museum, of which he gave in 1902 the catalog, joint with that of the museum of the city. He carried out shorter searches in Salakta, Mahdia, Hadjeb al-Aioun, Lamta, Sfax, Bizerte, etc., but also during some garrisons in France and campaigns in Algeria. As he went along, he systematically pointed out interesting discoveries to the French Comite des Travaux Historiques et Scientifiques (CTHS). He continued after his retirement in France in 1909. Recalled to service since the declaration of war, 1914, August 2th, he monitored digging of trenches in northern France and found various ancient artifacts. Back in his Mâcon home in 1919, he went on publishing synthesis notes about Tunisian ancient cities, until his death in 1922. Many interesting facts could be gleaned in his notes and reports for Tunisian archeology.

'I Class Struggle': French Exceptionalism and Challenges for Socialist Studies

‘Je lutte des classes’ ‘I class struggle’ – sticker worn by protestors in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lille, and other major French cities on Tuesday, October 12, 2010, during the 5th day of strike action. The protests aimed to challenge proposed legislation to raise the legal age of retirement in France from sixty to sixty two years of age. As in the English translation, the original French is grammatically awkward, an ambiguous if not ambivalent union between ‘I’ and ‘class struggle’.

Quality of work, health, and retirement

It is widely accepted that increased life expectancy in modern societies calls for later retirement age. Yet, currently in Europe at age 60 years, as many people are retired as there are in work. 1 Börsch-Supan A, Brugiavini A, Jürges H, Mackenbach J, Siegrist J, Weber G, eds. Health, ageing and retirement in Europe: first results from the survey of health, ageing and retirement in Europe. April, 2005. http://www.share-project.org/t3/share/fileadmin/pdf_documentation/SHARE_FRB1.pdf (accessed Sept 28, 2009). Google Scholar Early retirement is mainly caused by three inter-related factors: pension incentives and social security regulations, health status of employees, and work or employment conditions. 2 Gruber J Wise D Social security and retirement around the world. Chicago University Press, Chicago1999 Google Scholar In The Lancet today, Hugo Westerlund and colleagues 3 Westerlund H Kivimäki M Singh-Manoux A et al. Self-rated health before and after retirement in France (GAZEL): a cohort study. Lancet. 2009; (published online Nov 9.)https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61570-1 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (210) Google Scholar add an important element by showing that the burden of ill health, in terms of perceived health problems, is substantially relieved by the experience of retirement. This improvement is particularly striking in employees with poor quality of work and low job-satisfaction. Self-rated health before and after retirement in France (GAZEL): a cohort studyThese findings suggest that the burden of ill-health, in terms of perceived health problems, is substantially relieved by retirement for all groups of workers apart from those with ideal working conditions, and that working life for older workers needs to be redesigned to achieve higher labour-market participation. Full-Text PDF

Self-rated health before and after retirement in France (GAZEL): a cohort study

Governments need to increase the proportion of the population in work in most developed countries because of ageing populations. We investigated longitudinally how self-perceived health is affected by work and retirement in older workers. We examined trajectories of self-rated health in 14 714 employees (11 581 [79%] men) from the French national gas and electricity company, the GAZEL cohort, for up to 7 years before and 7 years after retirement, with yearly measurements from 1989 to 2007. We analysed data by use of repeated-measures logistic regression with generalised estimating equations. Overall, suboptimum health increased with age. However, between the year before retirement and the year after, the estimated prevalence of suboptimum health fell from 19.2% (95% CI 18.5-19.9) to 14.3% (13.7-14.9), corresponding to a gain in health of 8-10 years. We noted this retirement-related improvement in men (odds ratio 0.68, 95% CI 0.64-0.73) and women (0.74, 0.67-0.83), and across occupational grades (low 0.72, 0.63-0.82; high 0.70, 0.63-0.77), and it was maintained throughout the 7 years after retirement. A poor work environment and health complaints before retirement were associated with a steeper yearly increase in the prevalence of suboptimum health while still in work, and a greater retirement-related improvement; however, people with a combination of high occupational grade, low demands, and high satisfaction at work showed no such retirement-related improvement. These findings suggest that the burden of ill-health, in terms of perceived health problems, is substantially relieved by retirement for all groups of workers apart from those with ideal working conditions, and that working life for older workers needs to be redesigned to achieve higher labour-market participation. Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research, Academy of Finland, INSERM (France), BUPA Foundation (UK), European Science Foundation, and Economic and Social Research Council (UK).

Social Representations of Retirement in France: A Descriptive Study

The social representations of three social groups (students, people in the workforce, and retirees) are investigated. Comparison of the three samples allows one to describe how social representations of retirement differ according to age and employment status. It can be noted that both students and adults who are still working share some core elements in their representation of retirement, which is mainly perceived as a well‐deserved time to rest. However, the central nucleus of those people who have recently retired excludes this idea of needing some time to rest and centers more around having less stress, and more freedom; the end of work might mean undesired inactivity.Les représentations sociales de la retraite de trois groupes sociaux (étudiants, individus issus de la population active et retraités) sont étudiées. La comparaison entre les trois échantillons permet de décrire comment les représentations sociales de la retraite diffèrent selon l'âge et le statut du sujet. On a pu noter que les étudiants et les adultes en activité partagent quelques éléments centraux de leur représentation sociale de la retraite, qui est essentiellement perçue comme un temps de repos bien mérité. Cependant, le noyau central des personnes récemment retraitées ne contient pas cette idée d'un besoin d'un temps de repos et se centre plus sur le fait d'être moins stressé et d'avoir plus de liberté; la fin du travail pourrait alors signifier une inactivité non désirée.

Sheelagh Brewer.

Sheelagh Brewer, who died on February 4, a few weeks short of her 61st birthday, was a respected colleague and trusted friend. Sadly, what should have been a long and happy retirement in France was cut short. Sheelagh fought her illness with characteristic courage and black humour but, ultimately, an aggressive cancer defeated her.

Enterprise Reorganization and Social Insurance Reform: The Development of Early Retirement in France and Germany

What explains the decline in the labor force participation rates of elderly workers at the end of their working lives? Why have governments been unable to revert towards early exit from the labor market? This paper provides an actor‐centered analysis of the development of early retirement, highlighting the political negotiation among unions, employers, and governments over the distribution of the costs of these measures and the division of control over the initiation of these policies. By analyzing developments in France and Germany, the paper points to the failure of these negotiations to arrive at policy outcomes that close off the labor shedding of large firms.