Closing Early Retirement Routes for Younger Female Partners : Evidence From The Abolishment of The State Pension Partner Allowance in The Netherlands

Abstract

This study examines whether abolishing the state pension partner allowance in the Dutch pension system in 2015 contributed to the closing of early retirement routes for younger female partners. Until 2015, people with a younger partner who reached the state pension age got a partner allowance if their younger partner earned little or no income. The partner allowance can be seen as a stimulus to push retirement forward. By using a Differences-in-Differences design, this study estimates the effect of the pension reform on retirement decision-making, labour supply and training behaviour. The findings show no evidence that the younger female partners extended their retirement and remained active in the labour market. When focusing on the age gap and income, the findings only show a significant negative effect of the reform on labour supply for younger female partners with little or no income. Therefore, this study shows limited evidence for an effect of this pension reform and no evidence for a contribution to closing early retirement routes for younger female partners.