Expected and preferred retirement age in Germany

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Social Policy
• Labor Economics

Background:

• German pension system reforms increased statutory retirement age.
• Retirement policies have shifted away from early retirement options.
• Older workers' retirement expectations and preferences are adapting to these changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• Examine discrepancies between expected and preferred retirement ages in Germany.
• Investigate how these discrepancies vary across different worker groups.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from the "Employment after retirement" survey.
• Comparison of expected versus preferred retirement ages for 1500 workers (aged 55+).
• Regression analyses to assess the impact of education and professional status on retirement age deviations.

Main Results:

• Workers aged 55+ prefer to retire 1.75 years earlier than they expect.
• The gap between expected and preferred retirement age is significantly larger for individuals with lower professional positions, income, and education.

Conclusions:

• A notable gap exists between expected and preferred retirement ages for older German workers.
• This discrepancy, particularly for vulnerable groups, suggests potential social inequalities in retirement timing.
• Findings should inform future German pension system reforms to address these inequalities.