The impact of social security and pension reforms on household savings and the financial wellbeing of the elderly population

Retirement consumption is financed through private savings, state pension benefits, and occupational pension benefits. Pension reforms, such as the recently proposed increase in the statutory retirement age, affect income during retirement, and individuals may respond to such reforms by adjusting private savings during their working life. The research consists of three parts. The first part investigates expectation formation of future pension entitlements. The second project seeks to answer the question to what extent future pension benefits crowd out private savings. Finally we address the question whether or not people have saved enough for their retirement.