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Fair Retirement Under Risky Lifetime

Author

Listed:
  • Marc Fleurbaey

    (Princeton University)

  • Marie-Louise Leroux

    (UQAM - Université du Québec à Montréal = University of Québec in Montréal, CORE - Center of Operation Research and Econometrics [Louvain] - UCL - Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain)

  • Pierre Pestieau

    (CORE - Center of Operation Research and Econometrics [Louvain] - UCL - Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research)

  • Grégory Ponthière

    (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

A premature death unexpectedly brings a life and a career to their end, leading to substantial welfare losses. We study the retirement decision in an economy with risky lifetime, and compare the laissez-faire with egalitarian social optima. We consider two social objectives: (1) the maximin on expected lifetime welfare (ex ante), allowing for a compensation for unequal life expectancies; (2) the maximin on realized lifetime welfare (ex post), allowing for a compensation for unequal lifetimes. The latter optimum involves, in general, decreasing lifetime consumption profiles, as well as raising the retirement age, unlike the ex ante egalitarian optimum. This result is robust to the introduction of unequal life expectancies and unequal productivities. Hence, the postponement of the retirement age can, quite surprisingly, be defended on egalitarian grounds --although the conclusion is reversed when mortality strikes only after retirement.

Suggested Citation

  • Marc Fleurbaey & Marie-Louise Leroux & Pierre Pestieau & Grégory Ponthière, 2013. "Fair Retirement Under Risky Lifetime," PSE Working Papers halshs-00857945, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-00857945
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00857945
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. #HEJC papers for October 2013
      by academichealtheconomists in The Academic Health Economists' Blog on 2013-10-01 04:30:26

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    Cited by:

    1. Vandenberghe, Vincent, 2024. "Partial de-annuitization of public pensions vs. retirement age differentiation: Which is best to account for longevity differences?," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(1), pages 111-131, January.
    2. Marie-Louise Leroux & Gregory Ponthiere, 2018. "Working time regulation, unequal lifetimes and fairness," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 51(3), pages 437-464, October.
    3. Barigozzi, Francesca & Cremer, Helmuth & Lozachmeur, Jean-Marie, 2023. "Gender wage and longevity gaps and the design of retirement systems," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 263-287.
    4. Gregory Ponthiere, 2020. "A theory of reverse retirement," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 22(5), pages 1618-1659, September.
    5. Grégory Ponthière, 2017. "Pollution, décès prématuré et compensation," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 68(1), pages 97-118.
    6. Marie-Louise Leroux & Pierre Pestieau & Gregory Ponthiere, 2021. "Fair long-term care insurance," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 57(3), pages 503-533, October.
    7. Marie‐Louise Leroux & Pierre Pestieau & Gregory Ponthiere, 2024. "The optimal design of assisted reproductive technologies policies," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(7), pages 1454-1479, July.
    8. Marie-Louise Leroux & Pierre Pestieau & Gregory Ponthiere, 2022. "Childlessness, childfreeness and compensation," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 59(1), pages 1-35, July.
    9. Pierre Pestieau & Gregory Ponthiere, 2012. "The Public Economics of Increasing Longevity," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 200(1), pages 41-74, March.
    10. Pierre Pestieau & Gregory Ponthiere, 2014. "Policy Implications of Changing Longevity," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 60(1), pages 178-212.
    11. Johanna Etner & Natacha Raffin & Thomas Seegmuller, 2020. "Reproductive health, fairness, and optimal policies," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 22(5), pages 1213-1244, September.
    12. Baurin, Arno, 2021. "The limited power of socioeconomic status to predict lifespan: Implications for pension policy," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    13. Aronsson, Thomas & Blomquist, Sören, 2018. "Uncertain Length of Life, Retirement Age, and Optimal Pension Design," Umeå Economic Studies 957, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    14. Vandenberghe Vincent, 2021. "Differentiating retirement age to compensate for health differences," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-34, May.
    15. Johanna Etner & Natacha Raffin & Thomas Seegmuller, 2018. "Male Reproductive Health, Fairness and Optimal Policies," Working Papers halshs-01798983, HAL.
    16. Pestieau, Pierre & Ponthiere, Gregory, 2016. "Longevity Variations And The Welfare State," Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(2), pages 207-239, June.
    17. Leroux, Marie-Louise & Pestieau, Pierre & Ponthière, Grégory, 2015. "Longévité différentielle et redistribution : enjeux théoriques et empiriques," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 91(4), pages 465-497, Décembre.
    18. Marc Fleurbaey & Marie‐Louise Leroux & Pierre Pestieau & Gregory Ponthiere & Stephane Zuber, 2022. "Premature deaths, accidental bequests, and fairness," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 124(3), pages 709-743, July.
    19. Arno Baurin, 2020. "The Limited Power of Socioeconomic Status to Predict Longevity: Implications for Pension Policy," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2020019, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    20. Ponthiere, Gregory, 2023. "Social Insurance against a Short Life: Ante-Mortem versus Post-Mortem Policies," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1342, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    21. Grégory Ponthière, 2020. "Pensions and social justice. From standard retirement to reverse retirement," Revue de l'OFCE, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 0(6), pages 193-226.
    22. Torben M. Andersen & Marias H. Gestsson, 2022. "Is full annuitization socially optimal?," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 199-217, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Risky lifetime; Mortality; Labour supply; Retirement; Compensation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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