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Active ageing policies and delaying retirement: comparing work-retirement transitions in Austria and Germany

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2021

Lisa Schmidthuber Open the ORCID record for Lisa Schmidthuber [Opens in a new window] ,
Charlotte Fechter Open the ORCID record for Charlotte Fechter [Opens in a new window] ,
Heike Schröder Open the ORCID record for Heike Schröder [Opens in a new window]  and
Moritz Hess
Lisa Schmidthuber
Affiliation:
Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria
Charlotte Fechter*
Affiliation:
Universität Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Germany
Heike Schröder
Affiliation:
Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Moritz Hess
Affiliation:
Hochschule Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, Mönchengladbach, Germany
*
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

We investigate how labour market and pension measures associated with active ageing influence retirement behaviour in Austria and Germany. We focus on two conservative welfare states and evaluate how individuals respond to comparable pension scheme changes. Using the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, findings point to increasing average actual retirement ages in both countries. Early retirement becomes less important while working until pension age has gained in significance. In particular, findings point towards greater de-standardisation of retirement transitions, though to a different extent across the two countries. Whereas gender differences are still prevalent in Austria, in line with traditional conservative welfare state characteristics, we find that Germany exhibits lower gender differences, but instead displays stronger inequalities between education groups. We argue that social risks emerge in Germany that are usually found in liberal welfare states. We suggest that this trend is reinforced by retirement policies that focus on “pushing” individuals out of employment. This study contributes to the understanding of how individuals respond to national policy incentives when making retirement transitions.

Keywords

Retirement transitionspension reforminstitutionalismAustriaGermany

JEL classification

J11: Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts J14: Economics of the Elderly • Economics of the Handicapped • Non-Labor Market Discrimination J26: Retirement • Retirement Policies
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , July 2021 , pp. 176 - 193
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Social Policy Association

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