The Determinants of Early Retirement in Switzerland
Journal
Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Volkswirtschaft und Statistik =Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics
ISSN
0303-9692
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2005-06-01
Author(s)
Abstract
In the past decade, Switzerland has experienced a large increase in the number of individuals going into early retirement. This paper examines the determinants of such early retirement using data from the newly implemented social-security module of the 2002 Swiss Labor Force Survey. In the sixteen-month period from January 2001 to April 2002, more than 36,000 older individuals, representing 8% of all workers within nine years of legal retirement age, became early retirees. One of the most important determinants of early retirement is the wage rate, yet its effect is not linear: both high and low wages reduce the probability. Other factors that play an important role include partner's employment status, education, industry, occupation, and coverage in the three social-security pillars. A major finding of this study is that about 30% of all early retirees continue working after retirement - and mostly for the same employer.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
No
Publisher
Lang
Publisher place
Bern
Volume
141
Number
2
Start page
247
End page
283
Pages
37
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
29208