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Maintaining One's Living Standard at Old Age: What Does that Mean? Evidence Using Panel Data from Germany

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  • Christian Dudel
  • Notburga Ott
  • Martin Werding

Abstract

How much retirement income is needed in order to maintain one’s living standard at old age? As it is difficult to find a firm basis for an empirical treatment of this question, we employ a novel approach to assessing an adequate replacement rate vis-à-vis income in the pre-retirement period. We subject indications regarding satisfaction with current income as collected in the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) to longitudinal analyses, using linear fixed-effects models and fixed-effects ordered logit models as our main analytical tools. We obtain a required net replacement rate of about 87% for the year of entry into retirement as a rather robust result, while replacement rates keeping the living standard unchanged may slightly decline over the retirement period.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Dudel & Notburga Ott & Martin Werding, 2013. "Maintaining One's Living Standard at Old Age: What Does that Mean? Evidence Using Panel Data from Germany," CESifo Working Paper Series 4223, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_4223
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    1. repec:ces:ifodic:v:13:y:2015:i:2:p:19166284 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Martin Werding, 2016. "One Pillar Crumbling, the Others Too Short: Old-Age Provision in Germany," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 237(1), pages 13-21, August.
    3. Joachim Merz, 2022. "Are Retirees More Satisfied? Anticipation and Adaptation Effects: A Causal Panel Analysis of German Statutory Insured and Civil Service Pensioners," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1163, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    4. Sonja Spitzer & Angela Greulich & Bernhard Hammer, 2018. "The Subjective Cost of Young Children: A European Comparison," VID Working Papers 1812, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
    5. Martin Werding, 2015. "Old-age Provision in Germany: The Crisis Impedes a Shift Towards Higher Pre-funding," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(2), pages 08-13, 08.
    6. Martin Werding, 2015. "Old-age Provision in Germany: The Crisis Impedes a Shift Towards Higher Pre-funding," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(02), pages 08-13, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    retirement; living standard; replacement rate; pensions; saving; satisfaction;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions

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