Pension Reform in Germany: The Impact on Retirement Decisions

Abstract

The paper examines the long-term implications of various reform options on retirement entry decisions and the actual retirement age of older workers. It focuses on the changes in pension legislation since 1992 and the reform options discussed by the German Social Security Reform Commission installed in 2002 (“Rürup Commission”). Our simulations show that the early-retirement adjustment factors introduced by the 1992 pension reform will raise the average effective retirement age for men by almost two years. The two-year increase in all relevant age limits proposed by the “Rürup Commission” would raise retirement age of men by another eight months.