Statutory Pension Research Articles

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a web-based routine assessment with integrated recommendations for action for depression and anxiety (RehaCAT+): protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial for patients with elevated depressive symptoms in rehabilitation facilities

IntroductionThe integration of a web-based computer-adaptive patient-reported outcome test (CAT) platform with persuasive design optimised features including recommendations for action into routine healthcare could provide a promising way to translate...

Projecting years in good health between age 50\u201369 by education in the Netherlands until 2030 using several health indicators - an application in the context of a changing pension age

ObjectiveWe investigate whether there are changes over time in years in good health people can expect to live above (surplus) or below (deficit) the pension age, by level of attained education, for the past (2006), present (2018) and future (2030) in the Netherlands.MethodsWe used regression analysis to estimate linear trends in prevalence of four health indicators: self-assessed health (SAH), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) functional limitation indicator, the OECD indicator without hearing and seeing, and the activities-of-daily-living (ADL) disability indicator, for individuals between 50 and 69 years of age, by age category, gender and education using the Dutch National Health Survey (1989–2018). We combined these prevalence estimates with past and projected mortality data to obtain estimates of years lived in good health. We calculated how many years individuals are expected to live in good health above (surplus) or below (deficit) the pension age for the three points in time. The pension ages used were 65 years for 2006, 66 years for 2018 and 67.25 years for 2030.ResultsBoth for low educated men and women, our analyses show an increasing deficit of years in good health relative to the pension age for most outcomes, particularly for the SAH and OECD indicator. For high educated we find a decreasing surplus of years lived in good health for all indicators with the exception of SAH. For women, absolute inequalities in the deficit or surplus of years in good health between low and high educated appear to be increasing over time.ConclusionsSocio-economic inequalities in trends of mortality and the prevalence of ill-health, combined with increasing statutory pension age, impact the low educated more adversely than the high educated. Policies are needed to mitigate the increasing deficit of years in good health relative to the pension age, particularly among the low educated.

Anerkennung als Grund sozialer Rechte

The introduction of the basic pension, an individual basic pension supplement granted if obligatory contributions to the statutory pension insurance have been paid for decades from below-average earnings, is taken as an opportunity to reflect on the normative justification of social rights. In particular, the symbolic dimension of social rights will be elaborated. For this purpose, Axel Honneth's theory of recognition will be referred to. Finally, an attempt is made to determine in which case norms that are supposed to confer symbolic recognition can be considered legitimate.

Modelling old‐age retirement: An adaptive multi‐outcome LAD‐lasso regression approach

AbstractUsing unique administrative register data, we investigate old‐age retirement under the statutory pension scheme in Finland. The analysis is based on multi‐outcome modelling of pensions and working lives together with a range of explanatory variables. An adaptive multi‐outcome LAD‐lasso regression method is applied to obtain estimates of earnings and socioeconomic factors affecting old‐age retirement and to decide which of these variables should be included in our model. The proposed statistical technique produces robust and less biased regression coefficient estimates in the context of skewed outcome distributions and an excess number of zeros in some of the explanatory variables. The results underline the importance of late life course earnings and employment to the final amount of pension and reveal differences in pension outcomes across socioeconomic groups. We conclude that adaptive LAD‐lasso regression is a promising statistical technique that could be usefully employed in studying various topics in the pension industry.

Predictors of the Use of Different Occupational Rehabilitation Measures: A Comparison of Integration Measures, Partial Qualifications and Full Training

Occupational rehabilitation is an essential part of supporting return to work by the statutory pension insurance institutes. It is useful if health-related restrictions threaten the ability to work. There are various forms of occupational rehabilitation which differ considerably in terms of content, structure, duration, intensity of care and costs. The aim of the study was to identify personal characteristics that can influence the use of three different occupational rehabilitation measures. All rehabilitants who underwent an occupational rehabilitation in the cooperating occupational rehabilitation centre (Berufsförderungswerk) from 2009 to 2014 under the funding of the German Federal Pension Fund were included in the analysis. A multinomial logistic regression was calculated in order to obtain information on the predictors of utilization of three occupational rehabilitation measures (integration measure, partial qualification, full training). As potential influencing factors, various sociodemographic characteristics as well as various parameters that reflect the employment status of rehabilitants in the previous year were included in the model. The analyses included a total of 934 rehabilitants who had completed an integration measure (n=443), partial qualification (n=315) or full training (n=176). In the final logistic regression model, gender (p<0.0001), age (p<0.0001), education level (p=0.0033), driving license (p<0.0001), willingness to move (p=0.0012), recognized disability (p=0.0404) and the employment status in the third month before the start of the measure (p=0.0020) proved to be significant predictors of utilization. The utilization of the different occupational rehabilitation measures is determined by various influencing factors. In particular, the more extensive and cost-intensive full training are more likely to be taken up by younger, male and more highly qualified rehabilitants.

Does retirement reduce familiarity with Information and Communication Technology?

This paper analyses the effect of retirement on the familiarity with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) of older individuals. We argue that inability to cope with ICT might represent a threat for older individuals’ social inclusion. To account for the potential endogeneity of retirement with respect to familiarity with ICT, we instrument retirement decision with the age-eligibility for early and statutory retirement pension schemes. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we show that retirement reduces the computer literacy and the frequency of internet utilization for men and women. This finding is robust to the inclusion as control factors of health, cognition and social network indicators, which the literature has shown to be affected by retirement. Overall, the reduction in the familiarity with ICT after retirement tends to be stronger in the long-run.

Measuring intra-generational redistribution in PAYG pension schemes

Voters in ageing societies expect pension reforms to be both inter-generationally and intra-generationally fair. In this paper, we propose a global measure of intra-generational redistribution in pay-as-you-go pension schemes as a basis for voters’ evaluations of reforms. Our novel index only requires information on contributions by and pension benefits paid to retirees, enabling us to measure intra-generational redistribution isolated from possible inter-generational redistribution. We rely on the contribution records of approximately 100,000 Germans, who progressed into retirement in 2007–2015, to measure the level of intra-generational redistribution in the German statutory pension scheme (GRV). A recent reform of the childcare benefit provision, which became effective in 2014, confirms the predictions of our index. The reform introduced additional benefits for a substantial subgroup of German mothers, owing to which the index value for women, but not for men, jumps up. Our findings suggests that GRV fulfills the ideal of a Bismarckian pension system without intra-generational redistribution for men, while women benefit significantly from intra-generational redistribution.

Revisiting the effect of statutory pension ages on participation and the average age of retirement in OECD countries

Revisiting the effect of statutory pension ages on participation and the average age of retirement in OECD countries

Does Vocational Reintegration After Medical Rehabilitation Differ in Terms of Social Status and Type of Rehabilitative Care?

Employees in a low socio-economic position (SEP) are more likely to leave the labour market after medical rehabilitation for health reasons than those in a better social position. So far, almost nothing is known about whether certain types of rehabilitative care can reduce this inequality in rehabilitation success. This paper examines whether certain types of care modify the SEP's influence on return-to-work (RTW). The study is based on administrative data from the German statutory pension insurance on 266,413 medical rehabilitations of 253,311 persons fully integrated into working life. Poisson regression analyses were used to check whether there was a correlation between SEP (income, education, occupational position) and the probability of RTW in the year following the measure, and whether this correlation was lower in follow-up treatment (AHB), inpatient treatment or treatment with subsequent graded RTW compared to rehabilitation that did not meet these characteristics. People with a low income, education or occupational position were at increased risk of incomplete return to work after medical rehabilitation. This correlation was comparatively lower for all 3 SEP indicators when the return to work was gradual. In the case of AHB and inpatient rehabilitation, this only applied to income. Socio-economically disadvantaged population groups are comparatively more likely not to return fully to work after medical rehabilitation. These inequalities are less pronounced for certain types of rehabilitative care. This tends to be the case with an active structuring role of the care system. However, there is a need for further research on the modification of effects by the type of treatment. This should be further investigated using data collected for this purpose to exclude selection effects.

How the German Pension System can benefit from insights of behavioural economics

Due to the demographic change that has been going on for several decades, the pension system in Germany is being heavily burdened. The German pension system can be described as a three-pillar system that includes not only the compulsory statutory pension insurance, but also the company pension schemes and the private pension schemes. However, the statutory pension insurance is particularly affected by the demographic crisis. The resulting declining birth rates and the rising life expectancy caused an unfavorable ratio between contributors and recipients of this system. Several pension reforms have already been introduced in Germany in order to manage this crisis, but the expected results did not occur. This article is therefore concerned with the findings of behavioral economics and what solutions it gives for this problem. In addition, a reform concept for Germany with behavioral economic elements is presented — “Deutschlandrente”.

Measuring welfare states beyond the three worlds: Refining state‐of‐the‐art tools

AbstractThe past decades saw the expansion of the geography of comparative welfare state research beyond the three worlds embracing a heterogeneous set of mainly middle‐income countries. In response, two leading state‐of‐the‐art tools for measuring welfare states through social rights, Social Citizenship Indicators Program (SCIP) and Comparative Welfare Entitlements Dataset (CWED), integrated many new countries into their datasets. Comparative welfare state research has yet to address the extent to which these measurement tools originally developed for measuring classic welfare states work equally well for measuring welfare states beyond the three worlds. In this article, we explore a number of challenges these datasets face in measuring these new cases. These challenges, we believe, stem from a set of key institutional characteristics widely prevalent in these welfare states. These characteristics are overt and hidden conditionalities, unconventional instruments, informal practices, nature of changes in statutory pension age and labour market characteristics of the representative worker. We propose a set of solutions to refine these datasets for comparing all cases, old and new. We conclude by drawing lessons for comparative research focusing not only on welfare states beyond the three worlds but also on the three worlds themselves.

Pensions, Income Taxes and Homeownership: A Cross-Country Analysis

This paper studies the role of pensions and income taxes in determining homeownership and household wealth. It provides a cross-country analysis, using tax and pension policy designs in Germany, the US and Australia. These developed nations have similar incomes per capita but very different homeownership rates, with the US and Australia having much higher homeownership compared to Germany. The question is to what extent the observed differences in homeownership are induced by national tax and transfer policies. To that end, we develop a stochastic, overlapping generations (OLG) model with tenure choice. The model is calibrated to Germany featuring German statutory public pension and dual income tax systems, and then applied to study the effects of alternative income tax and pension policy structures. Our simulation results indicate that the US and Australian policy designs have a dramatic impact on homeownership, explaining more than half of the observed differentials. We also show significant macroeconomic effects due to differences in tax and pension policies.

Augmented wealth in Switzerland: the influence of pension wealth on wealth inequality

Entitlements for social security and occupational pensions present a major wealth component and play a central role for financial security. However, most individual-level data lacks information on pension wealth. By linking various data sources, this contribution estimates the present value of future pension entitlements in Switzerland for statutory pensions, occupational pensions and third pillar accounts and analyses the distribution of augmented wealth, which combines pension wealth and net worth. The CH-SILC survey from 2015 is used to estimate real assets, financial assets and pension wealth of retired individuals. The pension entitlements of non-retired individuals are simulated on the basis of their earning history from administrative records following the accrual method and assuming a real discount rate of 2%. When pension wealth is added to net worth, average wealth doubles, and the Gini-coefficient declines by 26%. The equalising effect is particularly strong for social security pensions. The wealth distribution differs strongly between the three pillars of the pension system; there are also strong differences between gender and age groups. In Switzerland, wealth accumulation continues after retirement age.

Online Rehab-Need Test (OREST): Effectiveness of an Invitation to Proactive Screening (self-test) for the Need for Medical Rehabilitation Among Individuals Covered by the German Statutory Pension Insurance Agencies in Baden-Württemberg and the Rhine Region

Up to now, there has been a lack of proactive approaches on the part of the rehabilitation providers, while simultaneously a suspected unmet rehabilitation need exists in some groups of insured persons. Therefore, the effectiveness of the invitation to a web-based self-test for rehabilitation needs as a new access route to medical rehabilitation was evaluated. The main question was whether the intervention leads to more approved rehabilitation applications in the follow-up period of 22 months and whether this effect is also apparent after controlling other influencing variables. A randomized, controlled study with N=8000 insured persons of two regional statutory pension insurance agencies was conducted to check the effectiveness of the intervention. Insured persons of the intervention group (IG; n=4000) were informed by mail about the web-based self-test and received individual access data for it (user ID and PIN). The control group (CG; n=4000) received no information about the self-test. The primary outcome was the rate of approved rehabilitation applications, the secondary outcome was the application rate regardless of approval. Groups do not differ significantly in terms of primary or secondary outcomes. Even after controlling for other influencing factors, the intervention does not contribute to the prediction of outcomes, but some control variables, such as previous rehabilitation experience, prove to be important predictors for the application. The mere offer of a self-test for rehabilitation need by the pension insurance institution has no effect on the application process. Hence a letter from the pension insurance institution as the sole means of access does not appear suitable for increasing the rate of meaningful rehabilitation applications.

Determinants of the Wish for Rehabilitation and the Intention to Apply in Persons with Back Pain

Up to now, the main focus of analysis has been on determinants of the application for and utilization of medical rehabilitation due to back pain. The prevalence and determinants of motivational and volitional preceding stages of the application have not yet been well examined. Therefore, this study analyses the prevalence and determinants of the wish for rehabilitation and the intention to apply. Data were derived from the baseline survey of a cohort study including a sample of 45,000 persons randomly drawn from the statutory pension agencies (GPI North and GPI Central Germany). The baseline data of persons aged 45-59 years with back pain within the past 3 months, neither receiving disability pension nor medical rehabilitation during the past 4 years were analysed. Determinants of the wish for rehabilitation and the intention to apply were identified using multivariate logistic regression analyses. 2,348 of the 6,549 persons with back pain (36%) wished to participate in a rehabilitation program. Of these 774 (33%) declared their intention to apply. Both dependent variables were strongly associated with the social support by family and friends. The wish for rehabilitation was also strongly determined by the previous experience with rehabilitation services. Another important determinant of the intention to apply was the support by physicians and therapists. Other factors were found to influence both dependent variables differently. In order to improve the need-based access to rehabilitation, the preceding stages (wish for rehabilitation and intention to apply) and their partly different determinants should be considered. The support by family and friends as well as physicians and therapists are important. This is a further indication that information and the involvement of these actors are key elements to ensure an acquired access to rehabilitation.

The risk of under‐insurance in the Finnish statutory pension scheme for self‐employed workers: A trajectory analysis

AbstractUsing unique data on the contribution base, we investigate under‐insurance within the statutory pension scheme for self‐employed workers in Finland. Under‐insurance is defined as the difference between pension‐declared income and tax‐declared income. The trajectory modelling technique applied has allowed us to estimate the levels of under‐insurance for different subgroups and to identify possible explanatory factors. Under‐insurance is found to be persistent and large. The analysis reveals six distinctive and homogenous sub‐groups of self‐employed workers. Close to 84 per cent of these workers pay too little in contributions, often leading to inadequate protection against personal risks. Especially for lower‐income self‐employed workers, this points to myopic behaviour as regards contributing to the self‐employed statutory pension scheme and calls for fine‐tuned economic incentives.

Social inequalities in medical rehabilitation outcomes—a registry-based study on 219 584 insured persons in Germany

Given limited knowledge on the extent of social inequalities in longer-term work ability of people with a chronic disease, this study analyzes social inequalities of three consecutive indicators of work ability following medical rehabilitation in a large sample of insured employees. Based on data from the German statutory pension insurance, a representative 20% random sample of all employed persons undergoing medical rehabilitation between 2006 and 2008 was included in a longitudinal analysis (n=219584 persons). Three measures of consecutive work-related outcomes (physicians' assessment of work ability at discharge; return to work in the year thereafter; disability pension during follow-up) and socioeconomic position (SEP) (education, occupational position and income) were assessed. Adjusted relative risks (RRs) for each outcome were calculated according to SEP, applying Poisson regression analysis. The measures of SEP were associated with all three outcomes of work ability in the fully adjusted models. Relatively strongest relationships were observed for education as SEP measure, and they were particularly pronounced for 'low work ability' (RR=2.38 for lower secondary education compared to tertiary education; 95% CI: 2.26-2.51). Based on average marginal effects, absolute differences of work ability by SEP indicate a socially graded pattern, with only few exceptions. Despite Germany's universal access to medical and vocational rehabilitation social inequalities in longer-term work ability following chronic disease persist, thus calling for targeted programmes of prevention and occupational health promotion.

Cross Border Qualification Problems Between Social Security and Supplementary Pension: More Guidance Needed?

The encouragement of the accrual of an adequate retirement income has the attention, not only of national governments, but also of the European Commission (EU Member States have initiated reforms of their pension systems, amongst others to provide an adequate pension income. The European Commission stated in 2017 that as part of social protection, every EU citizen should be entitled to an adequate pension, see: European Commission, Commission Recommendation on the European Pillar of Social Rights, C (2017) 2600 final, 26 April 2017, page 8. The European Commission has already expressed this ambition in its White Paper – An Agenda for Adequate, Safe and Sustainable Pensions, published in 2012, see: European Commission, White Paper – An Agenda for Adequate, Safe and Sustainable Pensions, 16 February 2012, COM (2012) 55, page 12. The broadly supported endeavour to achieve an adequate pension income also implies that a multi-pillar approach is recognized by Member States, whereby not only the statutory pension, but also other forms of retirement savings (such as supplementary pension) has to ensure an adequate income after retirement. With regard to promoting cross border labour mobility, reference can be made to the ‘Europe 2020 strategy’.). In cross border situations, a mobile employee may be confronted with various legal obstacles that may hinder an adequate pension accrual and cross border labour mobility. In this article the so-called cross border qualification problems between social security and supplementary pension will be addressed. It is examined how the three qualification problems are recognized in a European law context and to what extent more guidance can be provided on a European level to eliminate the negative consequences of the present qualification problems. cross border pensions, social security, supplementary pensions, accrual of pensions, qualification, mobile employee, double taxation, mutual recognition, European Pension Register, pension premium provision, soft law

The Country That Never Retires: The Gendered Pathways to Retirement in South Korea.

Among all Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, South Korean older adults work until the latest age. We investigate the extent to which work experiences over the life course and family circumstances can be associated with older workers' incentives to remain in the labor force beyond the statutory pension age. We explore gender-specific patterns of labor force exit and labor force re-entry in later life. Using panel data of South Korean older workers and retirees from 2006 to 2016, we estimate multilevel discrete-time models with random effects to predict their labor force transition process that unfolds over time. Results show that skilled manual workers are less likely to exit employment and more likely to re-enter the labor force. A longer history of self-employment is related to later retirement. The relationship between career characteristics and the risk of retirement is only significant for men. Late-aged employment transition among women appears to be more related to family conditions. Women who receive financial support from adult offspring are more likely to remain out of the labor force but this relationship is not pronounced among men. Policies aimed at extending working lives need to provide various types of social support to older job seekers, especially those who had low-class jobs and those without family networks.

Dynamic microsimulation modelling of potential pension reforms in North Macedonia

AbstractDue to structural and policy shifts, pension deficit in North Macedonia doubled over a decade and significantly outpaced the central budget deficit. The objective of the paper is to examine fiscal and development effects of few pension-reform designs. We constructed MK-PENS Dynamic Microsimulation Pension Model and simulated the effects of few reforms affecting one stakeholder and few combined reforms. Results robustly suggest that without reform and assuming only statutory pension adjustment, the deficit will remain as is. Simulated scenarios suggest that proposed pension reforms significantly reduce the pension deficit, with the most favourable results obtained within the combined scenarios of shared burden. Gradual introduction of reform's elements should come into play in case large political cost is envisaged.