Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/110366 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
Diskussionsbeiträge No. 57
Publisher: 
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Forschungszentrum Generationenverträge (FZG), Freiburg i. Br.
Abstract: 
Due to demographic change the replacement rates of the German statutory pension scheme will decrease over the next decades. Voluntary savings for retirement will therefore gain more and more relevance in order to maintain one's standard of living during retirement. This article examines the savings behavior for retirement on an individual level in Germany. As a first step the decision to save at all is analyzed, showing that the main determinants for saving are personal income as well as the disposable household income. Furthermore migrants and individuals living in the Eastern part of Germany turn out to be less likely to save additionally privately for retirement. In a second step the chosen gross saving rates are analyzed using a Tobit, a lognormal hurdle model and a Type II Tobit Model. The results suggest that the decisions to save at all and about the saving rate are independent of each other leading to a loss of information if only a standard Tobit model is used. For example personal income increases the probability to save for retirement but decreases the resulting saving rate. Modelling both decisions separately therefore leads to a better understanding of the determinants of saving for old-age.
Subjects: 
savings
retirement
life-cycle
two-part model
tobit
exponential type II tobit
JEL: 
D14
D91
H31
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
433.05 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.