The aim of this project is to study how people adapt to the reformed pension system. In particular, we look at adaptations to the increasing flexibility offered – both in terms of savings, and in terms of job planning and ways of combining work and pension uptake.
Such adaptations are likely to have important consequences for economic well-being and living conditions in retirement. We will combine quantitative, register-based studies of actual behaviour with qualitative in-depth interviews of people in age groups that are about to enter retirement. We will draw special attention to the situation of immigrants in the new pension system, and we will study the coverage rates of occupational pension schemes, including the AFP-scheme, and interactions between these schemes and the National Insurance scheme.
Project approach
The project is divided into three modules. Module A contains three studies using register data and data from the micro-simulation model MOSART. The first study focuses on combinations of pension uptake and continued employment, the second on generational changes in savings behaviour, and the third on the accrual of pension rights and projected pension benefits among different categories of immigrants.
The aim of module B is to update and analyse a unique database combining longitudinal simulations of individual employment careers with data on the accrual of occupational pension rights and participation in the AFP-scheme. The data will be used to perform an up-to-date analysis of the interplay between the three sources of pension rights among Norwegian employees and its distributive implications.
Finally, Module C is devoted to a study of subjective retirement planning in terms of expectations, preferences and behavioural dispositions among individuals approaching the early retirement age at 62 and individuals in the age group 62-67 who have made different choices concerning pension claiming and labour market withdrawal. This module offers a subjective and qualitative take on some of the same issues that are addressed in the two first sub-studies of module A and module B.
