Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University

of the average retirement age by one year when compared to the situation before the reform
(Table 4). Figure 6 shows that the number of persons affected by pension deductions has
risen considerably between 2000 and 2007, and the number of persons who may take up an
old-age pension or a disability pension without (or with lower) deductions is continuously
falling.
Figure 6: Inflows into the pension system with deductions
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Persons affected by permanent deductions
Persons with protection of acquired rights
Persons not affected
Source: Reimann 2003: 43; DRV 2008 (courtesy of Ralf Himmelreicher).
Persons with protection of acquired rights = Persons who belong to the birth cohorts affected by actuarial
deductions, but who for various reasons are exempted from deductions, e.g. if they had been already severely
handicapped or unemployed when the rules came into force or have been insured for 45 years ( Brussig 2007:
6).
In the year 2006, 48.5 per cent of workers aged 55-64 years were employed (gainfully
employed or self-employed). Since 2000, this indicator has risen by eleven percentage
points. In the second quarter of 2007, the employment rate of 52 per cent has already
exceeded the Stockholm target according to standardised European LFS data (BA 2007: 5).
However, the employment rate of men aged 55-64 (56.5%) is well above women´s
employment rate (40.6%), and the employment rate of older workers (48.5%) is well below
the employment rate for prime-aged workers of 25-54 years of age (78.8%). The
employment rates have also developed differently for subgroups of workers above 49 years,
as Figures 7 and 8 show.
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