Vad kostar deltid? Kvinnors deltidsarbete ur ett pensionsperspektiv
Pension systemsIncentivesGender aspectsPart-time workWomenEconomicsEconometricsEconomic theoryEconomic systemsEconomic policyNationalekonomiEkonometriEkonomisk teoriEkonomiska systemEkonomisk politikBusiness and Economics
Mothers of small children often work part-time in Sweden. Since old age pensions are based on lifetime income, part-time work leads to lower pensions, as long as there is no compensation from non-actuarial benefits such as minimum pensions. In this paper, I investigate whether different components of the Swedish pension system provide incentives for part-time work among women. The analysis is performed through a simulation of future pensions for 9 typical women in a certain cohort. For three levels of education, I compare pensions of women with different labor market participation rates in different growth scenarios. Actuarial and non-actuarial benefits in the national pension scheme, as well as collectively bargained pensions, are included in the analysis.Generally, I find no incentives for part-time work from a pension perspective. This result is hardly surprising, since wages rise faster than prices in the model and most of the potentially part-time-inducing benefits in the system are price-indexed. The strong incentives to stay extra years on the labour market may function as an incentive to shift hours supplied on the labour market to later stages in life. This feature can be used as a ?safety net? for women who, at the end of their careers, regret earlier decisions to work part-time.