Description
Book SynopsisPension Systems enters into the current lively debate on European pensions. The focus of the book is the analysis of public intervention in individuals' retirement choice, its rationale and the desirability of legislation introducing a sizeable and compulsory increase in retirement age, to face the prospects of swift population ageing.
The book assesses the impact of different retirement rules on individual decisions, on the sustainability of social security systems and on labour market dynamics, and inquires whether mandatory retirement has not become an outdated feature of modern pension systems. The motivations behind public intervention in fixing compulsory retirement rules as well as the likely consequences of allowing the individual a higher responsibility in retirement choices are analysed. These issues are examined both theoretically and empirically and through a focus on country-specific patterns of retirement and on policy issues relevant at the European level. The impact of later retirement on the labour market is also investigated, considering the role of retirement rules in increasing employment.
This comprehensive and topical book will appeal to academics and scholars of public finance as well as pensions experts and organisations.
Trade Review'I recommend this book to all who are interested in European pension systems and ageing-of-the-population problems. The presentation is in a rather accessible non-technical style, so policy and opinion makers should also take notice.' -- Sybille Grob, De Economist
Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Part I: Increasing Retirement Age: Principles and Practice 2. Social Security Rules that Vary with Age 3. Retirement Incentives and Retirement 4. A Discussion Part II: Country Experiences 5. Patterns of Retirement in Germany: How They Emerged, and How to Change Them 6. Assessing the Impact of Pensions Policy Reform in Ireland: The Case of Increasing the Pension Age 7. Retirement Age Rules and Pension Reforms in Italy 8. Retirement Choices of Older Workers in Italy 9. Income Expectations and Outcomes at Mandatory Retirement in the Netherlands Index
