A long-term research contract on the issues of old age pension and labour market activity among seniors financed by The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
Project background
The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs wanted to establish a long-term research contract on the issues of old age pension and labour market activity among seniors. The background is the pension reform that was implemented in Norway in 2011, and the corresponding changes in occupational pension schemes and other benefit arrangements. The Ministry wants to know more about key issues such as how employers and employees adapt to the new system, how the new pension system redistributes between different groups, and the extent to which the population knows and supports the new rules for old age pensions.
Project organization
PensjonsLAB is established to accommodate the Ministry's requests for research-based knowledge. The project is a collaborative effort between the Institute of Social Research, Fafo, Frischsenteret and Statistics Norway. The project runs for several years, and we will maintain an ongoing dialogue with the Ministry throughout the period. We will also, to a greater degree than in traditional research projects, emphasize communication and dissemination.
Read more at the ISF web site (samfunnsforskning.no)
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.
