Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Umeå Economic Studies,
Umeå University, Department of Economics

No 957: Uncertain Length of Life, Retirement Age, and Optimal Pension Design

Thomas Aronsson () and Sören Blomquist ()
Additional contact information
Thomas Aronsson: Department of Economics, Umeå University, Postal: Department of Economics, Umeå University, S 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
Sören Blomquist: Department of Economics, Uppsala University, Postal: Department of Economics, Uppsala University, E 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden

Abstract: In this paper, we consider how the hours of work and retirement age ought to respond to a change in the uncertainty of the length of life. In a first best framework, where a benevolent government exercises perfect control over the individuals’ labor supply and retirement-decisions, the results show that a decrease in the standard deviation of life-length leads to an increase in the optimal retirement age and a decrease in the hours of work per period spent working. This result is robust, and is also derived in models of decentralized decision-making where individuals decide on their own consumption, labor supply, and retirement age, and where the government attempts to affect their behavior and welfare through redistribution and pension policy.

Keywords: uncertain lifetime; retirement; work hours pension policy

JEL-codes: D61; D80; H21; H55

18 pages, March 2, 2018

Full text files

ues957.pdf PDF-file Full text

Download statistics

Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to David Skog ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().

This page generated on 2024-02-05 17:13:52.