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Joint Retirement of Couples: Evidence from Discontinuities in Denmark

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  • Esteban García-Miralles
  • Jonathan M. Leganza

Abstract

We study how social security influences the retirement behavior of couples. First, we exploit over two decades of full-population data and a discontinuity design to document sizable retirement spillovers to spouses when individuals reach pension eligibility age. Next, we explore underlying mechanisms. We find age differences within couples to be a fundamental determinant of joint retirement, which is driven by older spouses working longer. Accounting for these age differences reveals a strong gender gap, which prevails after controlling for relative earnings. Finally, in a complementary analysis we show that a reform increasing eligibility ages induces similar spillovers to spouses.

Suggested Citation

  • Esteban García-Miralles & Jonathan M. Leganza, 2021. "Joint Retirement of Couples: Evidence from Discontinuities in Denmark," CESifo Working Paper Series 9191, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9191
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    Cited by:

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    2. Todd Morris, 2022. "The unequal burden of retirement reform: Evidence from Australia," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(2), pages 592-619, April.
    3. Giesecke, Matthias & Jäger, Philipp, 2021. "Pension incentives and labor supply: Evidence from the introduction of universal old-age assistance in the UK," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    4. Etgeton, Stefan & Fischer, Björn & Ye, Han, 2023. "The effect of increasing retirement age on households’ savings and consumption expenditure," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    joint retirement; pension eligibility age; couples labor supply;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions

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