The Impacts of Public Pension Programs

Session Submission Type: Complete Session

Abstract

Public pensions are among the largest government programs in the world. This session consists of four papers that explore the wide-ranging impacts of these prominent social insurance programs on labor market and other lifecycle outcomes. One paper studies how the public pension in Ecuador impacts both when people retire and when they choose to work in the formal labor market earlier in life. Another studies how pension income for low-wage workers in Germany impacts health and mortality. Two papers study the U.S. Social Security program, with one analyzing the implications of how retirement benefits are actuarially adjusted depending on the age at which a person claims and the other analyzing the impacts of a potential policy change that would allow people early access to their Social Security wealth. Taken together, these four papers use a variety of methods and data from different countries to advance our understanding of how social security systems influence decision making and well-being throughout the lifecycle.

Subject Area

• Retirement, Savings, Bequests, and Estate taxes

Chair

• Jonathan Leganza, Clemson University

Discussants

• Margaret Lay, Mt. Holyoke College

• Karen Smith, Urban Institute

Individual Presentations

• Public Pensions and the Strategic Timing of Formal Employment - Jonathan Leganza, Clemson University

• Live Longer and Healthier: Impact of Pension Income for Low-Income Retirees - Han Ye, University of Mannheim; Chiara Malavasi, ZEW Mannheim

• Is the Adjustment of Social Security Benefits Actuarially Fair, and If So, for Whom - Irena Dushi, SSA; Leora Friedberg, lf6s@virginia.edu; anthony webb

• Early Access to Social Security Wealth: A Welfare Analysis - Erin Cottle Hunt, Reed College