Employment Biographies of the German Baby Boomer Generation

Given the ageing and shrinking labor force, the baby boom cohorts are of increasing importance to the German labor market. This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the work trajectories of two illustrative baby boom cohorts, born in 1959 and 1965. We make use of the new data source BASiD. Using optimal matching methods, we consider clusters to identify typical work trajectories of the two birth cohorts. The clusters are characterized by different degrees of participation in employment. Our results show that work trajectories characterized mainly by full-time employment are declining in relevance and that more diversified work-life concepts are gaining importance

Integration ungesicherter Selbständigkeit in die GRV: Notwendige Weiterentwicklung der Alterssicherung in Bismarck-Tradition?

Integrating Uninsured Self-Employment into the German Statutory Pension Insurance: A Necessary Development in Pension Provision following the Bismarckian Tradition?This article examines the possible inclusion of self-employed people into the German statutory pension insurance using AVID 2005 data. The group of self-employed considered here consists of people who are currently not covered by an obligatory pension system during episodes of self-employment and who can, therefore, be presumed to need social protection. Model calculations on the individual level show the conditions under which this extended cover of the statutory pension insurance can lead to an improvement in the old age security for the people concerned. Monthly pension contributions that amount to at least half of the standard contribution („Regelbeitrag“) have to be assumed in order to substantially reduce the risk of future old age poverty