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The Impact of Human Capital Investments on Pension Benefits

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  • Johnson, Richard W

Abstract

This article develops a model, with deferred compensation and severance pay, that predicts that workers bear all the costs and receive all the returns of human capital investments and that specific investments yield higher returns than general investments. This model also predicts that pensions, which efficiently defer compensation, will be positively related to specific investments. Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Older Men confirms these predictions; participation in company-sponsored training programs, proxying for specific investments, increases the probability of pension receipt and the level of benefits. More general training outside the firm has much smaller effects on pensions. Copyright 1996 by University of Chicago Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Johnson, Richard W, 1996. "The Impact of Human Capital Investments on Pension Benefits," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(3), pages 520-554, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:v:14:y:1996:i:3:p:520-54
    DOI: 10.1086/209821
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Hart Robert A. & Ma Yue, 2008. "Wages, Hours and Human Capital Over the Life Cycle," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 228(5-6), pages 446-464, October.
    2. Gustman, Alan L. & Steinmeier, Thomas L., 1999. "Effects of pensions on savings: analysis with data from the health and retirement study," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 271-324, June.
    3. Inkmann, Joachim, 2006. "Compensating wage differentials for defined benefit and defined contribution occupational pension scheme benefits," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 24516, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Lex Borghans & Ben Kriechel, 2009. "Wage Structure and Labor Mobility in The Netherlands, 1999-2003," NBER Chapters, in: The Structure of Wages: An International Comparison, pages 125-148, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Blake, David, 2003. "Modelling the composition of personal sector wealth in the United Kingdom," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 24866, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Derek Messacar, 2018. "The Effects of Vesting and Locking in Pension Assets on Participation in Employer-Sponsored Pension Plans," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 178-200, June.
    7. Haynes, Jonathan B. & Sessions, John G., 2013. "Work now, pay later? An empirical analysis of the pension–pay trade off," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 835-843.
    8. Jonathan R. Peterson, 2023. "Employee bonding and turnover efficiency," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 223-244, January.
    9. Johnson, Richard W., 1997. "Pension Underfunding and Liberal Retirement Benefits Among State and Local Government Workers," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 50(1), pages 113-42, March.
    10. Jan Erik Askildsen & Norman J. Ireland, 2003. "Bargaining Credibility and the Limits to Within‐firm Pensions," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(4), pages 515-528, December.
    11. Johnson, Richard W., 1997. "Pension Underfunding and Liberal Retirement Benefits Among State and Local Government Workers," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 50(1), pages 113-142, March.
    12. Montizaan, Raymond & Cörvers, Frank & de Grip, Andries, 2008. "Training Background and Early Retirement," IZA Discussion Papers 3504, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Ghilarducci, Teresa & Reich, Michael, 1998. "Training and Pensions: Substitutes or Complements?," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt2xq878qt, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.

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